Sri Lanka’s No.1 bank, the Bank of Ceylon has yet again reaffirmed its position among the Top 1000 Banks in the world with the country rank No.1 according to the “The Banker” U.K. Magazine July 2017 issue. Being the only bank to continuously top the list among Sri Lankan banks, BOC without any doubt can boast of its financial and operational strength which is considered to have accounted for this achievement.

With the pledge to commit itself as “Banker’s to the Nation” since its inception the BOC brand has been evolving with the needs and lifestyle of the Sri Lankan community to provide financial assistance they require. The first and the only Sri Lankan single business entity to earn Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs.25.3 Billion for 2015 and PBT 31.6 Billion for 2016, BOC challenged its own record continuing its quest to strive for exceptional performance in all areas of banking. BOC’s financial KPIs indicate a strong financial performance that has shown steadfast growth since 2015, with ROA standing at 1.9%, ROE at 28.3%, CAR at 11.6% for the year 2016. For the stipulated year the Bank managed to maintain a 42% cost to income ratio portraying its ability to manage cost whilst improving business volumes. Since achieving a Rs.One trillion asset base in 2012 the bank achieved two more significant milestones recently. Despite many pressures that prevailed due to high interest rates, challenging economic environment and regulatory pressure on capital, the trust and loyalty that was placed on the brand “BOC” paved way to surpass Rs.one trillion in deposits in 2015 and Rs.one trillion advances in 2016 as the first Sri Lankan bank to do so. The Bank’s asset value now exceeds Rs. 1.6 Trillions and is the highest asset base owned by a single business entity in the country. Currently the Bank of Ceylon is the only Sri Lankan bank to own “a trillion triplet” in the balance sheet. Leveraging on the Bank’s capacity and the brand’s recognition earned among the public to mobilize low cost fund bases, the bank strategically expanded its loan book. With the current outlook the bank’s expected asset growth rate is 7% and the Bank has planned to enhance its asset base up to Rs. 2 trillion by 2019-yet another milestone in Sri Lankan banking industry.

“The Banker” Magazine UK, is one of the premier banking and finance magazines in the world and has been so since its inception in 1926. The Benchmark top 1000 bank list has been compiled by the “The Banker” since 1970. The Banker database holds comprehensive financial data, news feeds and executive contact data on the leading banks in every country and its ranking sets in the industry standard for measuring bank performance and strength.

BOC has understood that it has to go beyond mere multichannel strategies to approach today’s customer and to deliver the service they expect. Therefore it has developed more agile operating models that are customer-centric and provide profound solutions for all our customers coming from all walks of life. With the expansion in banking services it enriched its network connecting all branches and all other customer touch points through a single system at the end of 2004 enabling customers to transact through any branch seamlessly. Today BOCs local market reach consists of 628 Branches, 15 SME Centers and 748 ATMs and 127 CDMs which are spread throughout the country and currently serve customers ranging from individuals from all walks of life to corporate businesses. Now to add much more sophistication to personal banking, BOC has upgraded its online banking with “Apply Online” feature that allows customer to forward loan applications online after making a calculated decision with all the information and features such as loan installment calculators provided through online banking.

BOC introduced the “SmartZone” concept in branches across the country enabling customers 24 hour access to banking services. These SmartZones consist of ATMs and Cash Deposit Machines (CDMs) that enable the customer to deposit, transfer or withdraw money any time they need. Addressing the social need for sophisticated and secure digital channels for banking BOC upgraded its online banking facility along with its newest feature “SmartGen” where the traditional passbook has been replaced through emails and SMS alerts also enabling the customer to walk into any BOC branch without producing identification to transact as the customer image has been stored in the centralized system at the time of opening the account. Being more customer-centric BOC opened up its Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and twitter accounts enabling its customers to approach and feel the bank more closely.

“Continuing our quest to strive for exceptional performance in all areas of banking, we keep continuing to reach special milestones in the journey, with a steadfast growth. The Bank moved towards modern state-of-the-art banking and exhibiting exceptional financial performance. Keeping our momentum of growth in every possible way we have moved up the list and yet again confirm as the country’s No.1within the Top 1000 Bank ranking.” stated the Chairman of Bank of Ceylon, President’s Counsel Mr. Ronald C. Perera.

“We have been always driven by the motive of bringing the best out through every task we carry out as the leading bank in the country. It is my duty to thank my committed staff for all their hard work that was put in to get achievements such as this.” Stated the General Manager Mr. D.M. Gunasekera.