Bank of Ceylon celebrated its completion of 81 years of service to the nation. With a heritage that explicitly showcases the commitment it has towards the nation in terms of co-creating social and economic wellbeing together with the Government of Sri Lanka, BOC has reached Sri Lankan businesses and individuals of all-walks-of-life to enrich their socio-economic standards. Bank of Ceylon has expanded in size and influence so that the Bank can still be considered as the prime financier for Sri Lankans despite all competition. BOC has been the highest profit earning single business entity in the country for a number of years continuously. The Bank’s anniversary would be the best day to remind the nation that all learning of the bank goes back again as an investment to assist the Government’s socio-economic agenda to develop the country’s infrastructure facilities and other, on behalf of all the Sri Lankans. BOC takes great pride and responsibility in responding to the needs of all its stakeholders,” commented Kanchana Ratwatte, Chairman, BOC. BOC is standing strongly with a balance sheet that encompasses assets valued over 2.6 trillion rupees, deposits over 2.1 trillion rupees, advances and lending over 1.8 trillion rupees. In its 81-year long journey, BOC has empowered generation after generation of individuals and businesses that many of the indigenous corporate scale businesses that are here today were start-ups financed by the bank back in the early days. Leveraging on the strength gathered over eight decades, BOC has continued to dominate the Sri Lankan banking landscape at many different levels. “Looking at a broader perspective, anyone can observe that Bank of Ceylon is substantially rooted with every industry in the country in a significant way. In order to manage the requirements that are coming from this diverse customer base, BOC manages a product and a service portfolio that could financially enable anyone’s aspiration for social or economic growth. Considering the current social circumstances, the Bank has identified that the country is in need to promote the entrepreneurial spirit and more prominence should be given for financial inclusion and employment generation,” stated D P K Gunasekera, Acting General Manager, BOC.
