Bank of Ceylon ranked No. 1 Brand in Sri Lanka for 7th consecutive year

Bank of Ceylon has once again been ranked as the No. 1 Brand in the country by Brand Finance Lanka, a subsidiary of Brand Finance (UK). 

With the current rating, Bank of Ceylon has set an unrivalled record by becoming the only business to have achieved this status for seven consecutive years, the institution said in a statement.

The bank has increased its brand value up to Rs. 38 billon in 2015 from Rs. 30 billion in 2014. 

Having celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2014, BOC has been continuously fulfilling its stakeholder’s aspirations successfully throughout these years, adding value to its products and services. 

It has emerged as the leader in the Sri Lankan banking and financial services industry in terms of assets, advances, deposits, profits, and inward remittances. 

BOC reported the highest profit made by any single institution in the country by surpassing Rs. 20 billion, a 29% growth compared to the previous year. The strength, stability and its commitment to the nation along with the bank’s performance is reflected in the brand BOC’s position in being ranked as the No. 1 brand in Sri Lanka. 

“I’m glad to see that brand BOC has yet again become the No. 1 brand in the country, this time for the seventh consecutive year. Our vision is to continue being the highest contributor to the national cause through our contributions to the Government of Sri Lanka and remain as the No.1 Bank in Sri Lanka,” stated BOC Chairman Ronald C. Perera, PC.

He further thanked the bank’s customers, staff of Bank of Ceylon and all stakeholders on behalf of the bank on this achievement.

Being the banker to half of the Sri Lankan population, almost the whole country associates the brand BOC in many different ways. With over 600 inter-linked branches in its network and over 500 ATMs spread across the country it has reached every nook and corner of the country and serves people from all walks of life with its diverse portfolio, assisting customers, entrepreneurs and investors to achieve their goals. 

The multi-channel, multi-faceted nature of the bank’s service enabled BOC to reach both personal and corporate customer requirements effectively. BOC has the highest single customer borrower exposure limit in the country’s banking industry. Therefore corporate businesses can rely comfortably on the bank to satisfy all their banking needs under one roof.

Apart from its wide local branch network BOC has had a presence in London since 1949 which recently re-organised itself as a full-fledged banking subsidiary of BOC. The bank also has branches in Male, Chennai and Seychelles, becoming the Sri Lankan bank with the widest international presence. 

BOC has a foreign correspondent network of over 800 foreign banks and agents across the globe, enabling the smooth functioning of its international transacting and strengthening its ties in the international banking arena. 

BOC is also ranked as one of the top 1000 banks in the world (with country rank 1) by one of the world’s premier banking and finance magazines The Banker (UK). The ranking is based on recognition of the bank’s achievements as global leaders in the industry. Leveraging upon financial strength and the stability of the brand overseas the bank can proudly call itself the international Sri Lankan bank. 

The bank’s recent international achievements includes its award as the only Sri Lankan brand recognised as one of Asia’s Best Brands by the Chief Marketing Officer’s Council (CMO Council) based in Mumbai- India, and the SAFA and ARC Awards for the bank’s Annual Report 2013 respectively from South Asian Federation of Accountants and ARC International. 

Considering the bank’s stable financial outlook, Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd. has awarded ‘AA+ (lka)’ and another local rating agency ICRA Lanka Ltd. also has awarded (SL) ‘AAA’. They were the highest rankings awarded by these entities to a local commercial bank. 

BOC’s contribution to the national cause was recognised by Global Commerce Excellence Awards by Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in 2014 for contributing to the country’s GDP growth under ‘Public Sector Institutions’ and National Business Excellence Awards by National Chamber of Commerce for exemplary business practices recently.  

Since Bank of Ceylon’s establishment in 1939, it has committed itself to enriching the lives of Sri Lankans and has since then contributed continuously to uplift the country’s economy and the social wellbeing in every possible way and enhanced its contribution to society whilst growing in financial stability and strength over time.