BOC: No. 1 banking brand and only Sri Lankan bank to cross over Rs. 50 b brand value

Brand Finance Lanka Managing Director Ruchi Gunawardene handing the ‘Most valuable Banking Brand’ certificate to BOC Chairman, President’s Counsel Ronald C. Perera while BOC CEO/General Manager Senarath Bandara looks on

Bank of Ceylon, whilst becoming the first bank to exceed Rs. 50 billion in brand value, has retained its position as the No. 1 banking brand in the banking sector according to Brand Finance Lanka’s ‘The Brand Annual 2019’ published by Media Services Ltd. Figures further confirmed that the ‘Brand’ has performed 21% brand value growth over the previous year with the highest growth the brand has ever recorded and now counts for an impressive Rs. 51.8 billion brand value. 

Brand Finance Lanka Managing Director Ruchi Gunawardene presented the certificate denoting the awarding of the prestigious ‘Brand Finance – Most Valuable Banking Brand title in 2019’ title to Bank of Ceylon Chairman, President’s Counsel Ronald C. Perera and CEO/General Manager Senarath Bandara at the bank’s boardroom recently.

Brand Finance Lanka which was established in 2004 as a joint venture of Brand Finance, originated in London in 1996 as a leading independent brand valuation consulting agency in the world. It has been advising branded organisations on developing brand strategies and maximising respective brand values through effective management since inception. Brand Finance Lanka identifies Sri Lanka’s most valuable and strongest brands annually through a detailed analysis of data that is obtained from exclusive market research carried out by an independent research firm and publicly available financial information. These findings assist brands to make a clear assessment of their brand performance. 

“The Bank of Ceylon has always looked towards long term strategies that bring genuine value added services to all our stakeholders, which has been the base of strengthening our brand. The brand was able to build trust and confidence among all stakeholders through its responsible business practices,” stated the Chairman, President’s Counsel Ronald C. Perera. “Bank of Ceylon as the Sri Lankan banking giant which owns a highest brand value of Rs. 51.8 billion which has evolved over eight decades emphasising its place as the “Banker’s to the Nation”, has been able to relate to its customers by adopting its strategies to be more empathetic towards the needs of the Sri Lankan community. I am also thankful for the continued trust and loyalty that has been placed on the bank by its valued customers, loyal staff members and all stakeholders which allows the bank to drive successfully across the country,” he further added. 

BOC is Sri Lanka’s highest profit earning single business entity and the first to push forward its balance-sheet over a ‘trillion’ figure, which now holds over Rs. 2.3 trillion asset base, over Rs. 1.5 trillion loans and advances and over Rs. 1.7 trillion deposit base. It is also the highest profit earning single business entity which has recorded an impressive PBT Rs. 31.9 billion for 2018. Such strong financial performances emphasises “BOC’s” acceptance among Sri Lankans throughout the country as the undisputed No. 1 Bank in the country.

Spearheading the Sri Lankan banking industry BOC’s strategically began its digital transformation journey in early 2014, holistically embracing technology to replace its traditional way of business and altering processes and procedures to be more responsive towards customer trends and requirements. This responsive nature of the bank enabled BOC to sustain its Sri Lanka’s No. 1 Banking Brand position intact since its inception in 1939. With experience gathered over many years, BOC comfortably ventured into multiple strategies by experimenting constantly to co-create the brand and products with customers. The approach the bank took to cater to a dynamic customer base has proven to be a success over the years. BOC’s agile nature to respond to customer requirements and infuse synergy into the Sri Lankan banking industry has paved way for many new technologies to penetrate the local market. Currently the brand can be accessed both physically and virtually by anyone through its local and foreign branch network that works both as a traditional brick-and-mortar network and as modern-day digital channels.

In recognition of this achievement the BOC was also awarded The No. 1 Brand title in Sri Lanka by ‘InterBrand’ at its very first convention held in Sri Lanka. This indigenous brand was yet again recognised internationally as a MasterBrand for the year 2017-2018 by the CMO council Asia and was named as one of the ‘Top 1000 Banks in the world’ by the ‘The Banker’ U.K. Magazine. 

“Our rich heritage as “Banker’s to the Nation” says who we are to all Sri Lankans. Being the No. 1 Banking Brand we have consistently maintained ourselves as ‘One-Stop-Shop’ banking solutions provider for Sri Lankans of all walks of life positioning BOC as the most trusted banking brand of Sri Lankan households. Being a catalyst in the national economy whose financial expertise, innovative spirit and service excellence has empowered Sri Lankan aspirations; BOC’s unequivocal pledge to all its customers is to provide memorable seamless banking solutions at each of its customer touch points,” CEO/General Manager Senarath Bandara said.