Bank of Ceylon: No.1 Bank and No.1 Brand in Sri Lanka

The brand ‘BOC’ was named as the most valuable consumer brand in the country and the No.1 rank in the banking sector by the Brand Finance Lanka at the award ceremony held recently. Bank of Ceylon CEO/General Manager Senarath Bandara and Chief Marketing Officer Dr. Indunil Liyanage received the certificates carrying the titles awarded to the bank from Managing Director Brand Finance Lanka Ruchi Gunawardene recently.

The history of 79 years as the No.1 Bank in Sri Lanka is an extraordinary story to tell. Being recognised as the No.1 Brand in the country by Brand Finance Lanka for the 10th consecutive year, the saga of “Bankers to the Nation” began with the need that arose for a state aided bank to assist Ceylonese businessmen just before the World War II. Building a base of 12 million loyal customers who consistently seek a credible financial service, by 2018 the brand “BOC” was rated with a brand value of Rs. 42.87 billion by Brand Finance Lanka, which is a 5.5% increase compared to the previous year. 

In recognition of this achievement the “BOC” was awarded as the “No.1 Most valuable consumer Brand” and “No.1 Rank Banking Brand” in Sri Lanka by the Brand Finance Lanka in 2018. It also gained Rs. 31.12 billion from InterBrand Sri Lanka fortifying itself as the unwavering No.1 Brand in Sri Lanka. With the brand equity that was build over 79 years, “BOC” acquired a title as one of the “Asia’s Best Brands” from Chief Marketing Officer’s Council (CMO Council) based in Mumbai-India and graciously accepted the “Peoples Service Brand of the Year” at the SLIM – Nielsens Peoples Awards 2018- a voicing of the true acceptance of the people, for lodging an unequivocal brand image in the minds of the people. This indigenous brand was yet again recognised internationally as a MasterBrand for the year 2017-2018 by the CMO council Asia and was named as one of the “Top 1000 Banks in the world” with the No.1 country rank by the “The Banker” UK Magazine. 

“Gathering momentum over years the brand “BOC” has reached the pinnacle when adjudged as the No.1 brand in the country for the 10th consecutive year by Brand Finance Lanka. Blending with the Sri Lankan community to bring out the best in their lives, the Bank of Ceylon is one of the key financers behind the country’s economic drive and has become a profound household brand for banking services as “BOC”. This not only because it has the largest balance sheet in the country owned by a single business entity with a trillion triplet in Assets, deposits and loans and advances, nor because it has been named as the country’s No.1 Bank and the No.1 Brand. It is also because of the bank’s scale and capacity to alter the Sri Lankan banking industry driven by the integrity and financial strength of the brand “BOC” that has been demonstrated to all local and foreign stakeholders,” stated the Chairman, President’s Counsel Ronald C. Perera. 

“Looking back at the progress of the brand that has come so far, I can confidently say that we have moved in the right direction in this rapidly changing market. “BOC” has deepened the depths of the transformation to build the foundation and the platform to counter risks and challenges that market/technological disruption can cause. To sustain we will stay on course and correct ourselves through self-reflection as we have always done. We thank our loyal customers and all stakeholders for the confidence and trust they have kept in “BOC” strengthening the brand in 360 degrees,” he further added.

Digital disruption has changed the stance of every industry, especially banking, creating swirls of challenges coming from fintech.“BOC” with its experience gathered over many years comfortably ventured into multiple strategies by experimenting constantly to co-create the brand and products with customers. The approach the bank took to cater to a dynamic customer base has been proven a success over the years. BOC’s agile nature to respond to customer requirements and infuse synergy into the Sri Lankan banking industry has paved way for many new technologies to penetrate the local market. 

Currently the brand can be accessed both physically and virtually by anyone through its local and foreign branch network that works both as the traditional brick-and-mortar component and the modern-day digital channels. This has enabled BOC to introduce products and services that have gained wider customer acceptance. In order to cater to its all local customer segments BOC has expanded its reach to 627 locations as an inter-connected branch network alongside its sophisticated 923 CDM/ATM network and bill payment kiosks. 

Brand BOC has set a Sri Lankan landmark in London with a banking subsidiary whilst operating Chennai, Male and Seychelles with its own branches in its journey to become the Sri Lankan International Bank. Further “BOC” has a foreign correspondent network of 764 foreign banks and 100 foreign financial agents. Emphasising on complying truly to educate customers, the brand BOC takes an overall 360O communication approach to reach all its customers responsibly. Therefore the brand investments in marketing communications, which is considered to be relevantly high in the industry and maintains the highest share of voice among all other brands.

“At the end of the day, revenue growth is the moment of truth for any organisation with regard to its brand performance. Our financial records are very clear about what we are, and where we stand. BOC brand has driven the organisation to become the highest profit earning single business entity in the country since 2015, which is calculated for 2017 as a Profit Before Tax (PBT) Rs. 30.3 billion. This is an unprecedented 22.8% revenue growth from 2016 to 2017. Expanding its scale brand “BOC” will soon acquire an asset base worth Rs. 2 trillion becoming the unwavering banking giant in the Sri Lanka,” CEO/General Manager Senerath Bandara explained.  

Describing on the next phase of the brand strategy the bank’s General Manager/CEO Senerath Bandara stated, “Playing a role as a value creator for its main stakeholder the Government of Sri Lanka BOC is one of the main contributors, by way of paying dividends and tax revenue to the Government which again gets translated as a contribution to the country’s socio-economic development. Having stretched its network to every nook and corner of the country, BOC’s competitive spirit now looks further towards an expansion in the South Asian region based on its financial strength and brand reputation.” 

BOC, over the years has been the trusted financial partner for Sri Lankans. The bank has gone beyond its role as the financial services provider and enriched many through investments on community development sustainability initiatives. Through its strategic CSR policy the bank has built a sustainable and mutually benefiting nexus between its operation and the community.   

With the essence that was built to serve the Nation, Bankers to the Nation – BOC has created a powerful image within Sri Lankan community as a credible and a trusted financial partner that delivers to the genuine need of the people.