BOC wins ADB’s ‘Leading Partner Bank in Sri Lanka for Trade Services’

The No. 1 trade services provider in Sri Lanka, the Bank of Ceylon has been awarded the title of ‘Leading Partner Bank in Sri Lanka’ with the Asian Development Bank under the ‘Trade Finance Program – TFP’ at the ADB’s TFP Awards held in line with the Global Trade Review’s Annual Conference in Singapore. 

The TFP award ceremony was held recently at Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Hotel in Singapore.  This was the very first time a Sri Lankan bank has received this title as the ‘Leading Partner Bank’ for ‘Trade Finance’. The ADB’s Trade Finance Program looks into bridging the gaps in trade finance and reviews their impact on economic growth and job creation through developing SMEs across developing Asia. 

Being the No. 1 bank in Sri Lanka for trade finance, the Bank of Ceylon is considered the largest trade desk in the country. BOC has pioneered this development of Sri Lankan trade finance by building a bridge with the international trade finance network through the trust and cooperation that has been built over 78 years.

“It was indeed an outstanding moment to be recognised by one of the world’s leading banking institutions such as the Asian Development Bank and we take this opportunity to thank our staff who have contributed immensely and all our customers who have been with us, enabling us to achieve this award,” stated Corporate and Offshore Banking Division Deputy General Manager D.P.K. Gunasekara. 

As a provider of a complete range of corporate financial services, provider BOC Corporate Trade services has already been recognised for its superior quality of service through ISO 9001:2008 certification, being the first to be awarded such among all other banks and has consolidated its position since 2011. Bank of Ceylon also possesses a strong and wide correspondent banking network of over 800 foreign agents covering every part of the world and has gained acceptance for its stability and trustworthiness throughout which is another value addition to clients who deal through Bank of Ceylon.

In order to accommodate different types of needs of corporate clients, the bank has clustered its services under three main units, namely Corporate credit, Offshore banking and Trade services. The total portfolio consists of: Project lending, operational and working capital finance, medium and short term corporate loans, trade finance, syndicate loans, bank guarantees, advising letters of credit, transferring letters of credit, adding confirmation, handling duty rebates, providing status reports, cash management and treasury operations. The vast asset base it possesses has enabled BOC to earn the highest single borrower exposure limit, thus enabling it comfortably meet any macro investment objective of any corporate giant in the country.

Continuing to lead the banking and financial services landscape in Sri Lanka, the Bank of Ceylon has enabled many companies and individuals of all walks of life to improve their financial positions over time. Thus BOC has contributed greatly towards the sustainable economic development of the country.