Bank of Ceylon amongst top 1,000 global banks

4 December 2012 03:00 am Views - 4018

Sri Lanka’s state-owned banking giant has been ranked amongst the top 1,000 banks in the world, by the world’s premier banking and finance magazine, ‘The Banker’, the 73-year old bank said.

The Banker magazine, first published in January 1926 in the U.K., circulated over 180 countries, is the key source of data and analysis for the industry in international finance affairs.

The top 1,000 banks were selected in recognition of global leaders in the industry for their achievements. The rankings are one of the industry’s most widely used indexes of global banking and are internationally recognized as the definitive guide to the soundness, strength and profitability of banks.

Commenting on this achievement, Bank of Ceylon (BOC) Chairman Dr. Gamini Wickramasinghe stated that the bank has reached this milestone with a clear vision to make the impossible possible.

“That is ‘One Ten Twelve’, the corporate agenda for 2012, which translates into one trillion assets, Rs.10 billion profit in the year 2012. This task was achieved well before the target date, in mid-2012. Therefore, BOC became the first bank in Sri Lanka to reach a prodigious milestone by achieving Rs.1 trillion in assets,” Dr. Wickramasinghe noted.

Bank of Ceylon serves over 10 million customers islandwide and its commitment to each of them remains steadfast. Fitch Rating Lanka Ltd. has upgraded Bank of Ceylon’s national long-term rating to AA+ (lka) stable outlook, which is the highest rating awarded to a local commercial bank.

BOC possess the strength and the diversity of resources to offer a complete range of financial solutions to its customers. BOC has further expanded its unprecedented banking and financial services to overseas branches in Chennai and Male and banking operations in London.

Further, commenting on this global recognition, Bank of Ceylon General Manager K. Dharmasiri stated, “The bank has reached its pinnacle in 2012 by achieving key milestones in terms of growth in the bottom line of the bank and expansion in all business areas.

The bank has touched more than 10 million lives in the country. We are leading in every aspect of banking and financial services.” Maintaining solid partnerships with the private sector, BOC also supports infrastructure development activities, provision of working capital and significant investments in government projects.

Aligned with the government’s pursuit of socioeconomic development, the bank took major strides to assist in the country’s unprecedented demand for monetary support by easing loans as well as service provisions across the economy, especially in the North and East.