Bank of Ceylon Kekirawa branch re-opens as green branch

Tuesday, 31 January 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Bank of Ceylon converted its Kekirawa branch as the third green branch recently. The bank’s first two were Kilinochchi and Thissamaharama branches which were opened in line with its 77th anniversary in 2016.

BOC Kekirawa was opened ceremoniously with the patronage of the bank’s Chairman President’s Counsel Ronald C. Perera and General Manager D.M. Gunasekera. “The Bank of Ceylon as a state bank can proudly say that it backs the economy of the country in very special ways such as through financial inclusion. Kekirawa being a prominent agricultural area which contributes to the country’s agricultural output in a significant way, BOC is proud to be a stakeholder to assist people of this area,” stated Chairman Ronald C. Perera.

Deputy General Manager Sales and Channel Management Senerath Bandara, Deputy General Manager Support Services S. Hewavitharana, Deputy General Manager Retail Banking C. Amarasinghe, Assistant General Manager North Central Province Rohini R. Kodithuwakku, members of the corporate and executive management and other staff members also participated in this event.

The premises were re-furbished with minimal material usage and materials which are eco-friendly and improved to give a better environment quality. Similarly to the other two green branches the interior of the Kekirawa branch is designed to let in as much daylight as possible to minimise the usage of electricity during day time and at the same time solar panels will be fixed soon to produce a major portion of the electricity used by the branch. All necessary fixtures and fittings are environmentally certified. These include air conditioners that have invertor technology and are CFC free.

The branch also includes a vertical green garden that helps to maintain a comfortable interior temperature and which refreshes air and improves air quality and uplifts the overall atmosphere. These green gardens are maintained through a supply of rain water whenever possible through the rain water harvesting system that is installed within the branch. The branch offers to the residents of Kekirawa all banking services that range from personal banking to banking for businesses. These include all savings and current account maintenance, personal and business loans, loans for Micro and SME sector, pawning facility and it is also equipped with 24 hour activated SmartZone with a Cash Deposit Machine (CDM) and ATM.

“BOC is everybody’s bank. We are equipped to serve any customer on any scale to fulfil their financial needs with a superior service. Moving along with the green banking concept we are very pleased to bring our third green branch to Kekirawa town,” said the bank’s General Manager D.M. Gunasekera.

In moving forward to Green Banking through Digitisation, the bank promoted the E-statement as one of the many initiatives BOC has already embarked upon to save the environment. The Bank of Ceylon has been engaged in green initiatives such as E- Learning, altering internal systems and processes to be tech-savvy, thereby achieving a minimised carbon footprint, paper recycling and E-waste management apart from maintaining green branches.