Bank of Ceylon enters ‘The Banker’ rankings in ‘Top 5 Banks’ category

Ranked among Top 1000 Banks with country ranking No. 1

Bank of Ceylon has created history by being ranked among the Top 5 Banks in the Asia-Pacific Region (excluding China and Japan) in terms of Return on Capital (ROC) by ‘The Banker’ magazine, becoming the first Sri Lankan bank to achieve such a performance ranking from an internationally-recognised entity.

This unique milestone comes as a kind of ‘icing on the top’ as Bank of Ceylon has yet again been ranked among the Top 1000 Banks in the world, and with a country rank of No. 1, ahead of all other Sri Lankan banks, also by the same UK-based ‘The Banker” magazine. 

The story of Bank of Ceylon’s entry into the Top 1000 Banks in the world begins in 1997 when it entered the Top 1000. It was to take more than 10 years before any other Sri Lankan bank could enter these leagues. By the year 2000, other local banks were being rated among the top 1000-2000 banks but with a rank close to the mid-point of the 1000 to 2000 range. Bank of Ceylon continued to be ranked among the Top 1000 up to 2001.

By this time other banks in the region such as those in India, Indonesia, China and the rest of world were growing much faster than Sri Lankan banks which bore the burden of the ongoing conflict in the north and east. Bank of Ceylon re-emerged in 2012 and, as usual, ahead of all other Sri Lankan banks and has continued in the Top 1000 ever since.

‘The Banker’ magazine UK, which started in 1926, is one of the premier banking and finance magazines in the world. The benchmark Top 1000 Banks 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 industry standard for measuring bank performance and strength. 

Bank of Ceylon Chairman President’s Counsel Ronald C. Perera stated: “Bank of Ceylon proudly accepts these achievements of being able to strengthen the bank’s presence among the Top 1000 Banks in the world with the No. 1 country ranking despite the challenging global and local financial environment. At the same time this is the best moment to recall that BOC was the first Sri Lankan to be enlisted among the Top 1000 Banks in the world. Being ‘Bankers to the Nation,’ we consistently make sure that the strength and encouragement received from these achievements are passed down to deliver best-in-class banking service to our customers.”

“Bank of Ceylon has always been on a steadfast track to be exemplary in the Sri Lankan banking industry. We have initiated several projects with Boston Consultancy Group (BCG) to transform the bank’s operations and processes to come up with more elegant and comfortable banking to delight our customers whilst providing the best ROI for our main stakeholder. Being recognised for our commitment shows that we are moving ahead in the right direction,” stated the bank’s General Manager D.M. Gunasekara. 

BOC has also set an unrivalled record by becoming the only business to be the No. 1 Brand in the country for seven consecutive years as ranked by Brand Finance Lanka, a subsidiary of Brand Finance network (UK). Bank of Ceylon’s brand value has increased significantly to Rs. 38 billion in 2015 compared to Rs. 31 billion in 2014.

The bank claimed its award as the only Sri Lankan brand recognised as one of Asia’s Best Brands in 2013 by the Chief Marketing Officer’s Council (CMO Council) based in Mumbai, India. BOC has over 1,000 customer touch points covering all parts of Sri Lanka.

Focusing on the bank’s achievement, Fitch Rating Lanka ranked the Bank of Ceylon at AA+(lka), which is the highest rating awarded to a local commercial bank and ICRA (lk) awarded AAA rating which is the highest credit quality rating issued by ICRA Lanka. Bank of Ceylon maintains international presence with branches in Chennai, Male, Seychelles and a subsidiary in London.