Bank of Ceylon extends global reach to Victoria, Seychelles

Wednesday, 19 February 2014 00:37 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Moving another step forward in fulfilling its strategic aspiration of becoming Sri Lanka’s International Bank, the Bank of Ceylon opened its newest international branch in Victoria, Republic of Seychelles recently. The new Seychelles branch was opened by the Seychelles Vice-President Danny Faure, Finance Minister Pierre Laporte and the Bank of Ceylon General Manager D.M. Gunasekara. The Governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles Caroline Abel, the Senior Deputy General Manager BOC P.A. Lionel, Assistant General Manager, Country Head of Seychelles Ranjith Haputhanthri, High Commissioner to Seychelles Esala Weerakoon and other distinguished guests participated at this event.

The Vice-President and the Finance Minister of Seychelles extended their warm welcome to BOC and expressed their confidence in the bank. In addition to Seychelles branch, BOC has overseas branches in Chennai, Male, and a subsidiary in London. The Bank of Ceylon offers a wide range of financial solutions through the Seychelles branch, including corporate, retail, offshore and internet banking; foreign exchange, deposit accounts and credit facilities for trading, the tourism industry, agriculture and fisheries. Addressing the opening ceremony the Bank of Ceylon General Manager Gunasekara stated that the Bank of Ceylon Seychelles could provide range of value added services to the citizens of Seychelles. Gunasekara further stated that the bank has plans to expand its overseas branch network to other potential emerging markets during this year. Fulfilling the country’s current needs the Bank of Ceylon has penetrated every nook and corner of the country with over 1000 customer touch points and catering to over half of the population. Therefore now, the Bank’s strategy is to advance from the domestic banking model to an international banking paradigm and reach potential overseas emerging markets. One other major reason for this focus, based on the fact that, currently Sri Lanka is in need to have ownerships of its own international brands to uplift the country’s profile globally. Being Sri Lanka’s No. 1 bank and as one of the most acclaimed Asian brands with the potential to reach greater heights in banking and financial industry, Bank of Ceylon has the confidence and all the resources lined up for this paradigm shift. The bank will pay special attention to countries in the region and the African continent and Italy with its highly concentrated Sri Lankan diaspora. Having been in banking and financial services industry for 75 years and having experienced operating offshore banking for over 60 years (with the opening of London branch in 1949), the bank’s adaptability in the overseas market is one of the key strengths of BOC. Bank of Ceylon was awarded Asia’s Best Brand award 2013 by the Chief Marketing Officer’s Council (CMO Council) based in Mumbai, India. Brand Finance Lanka ranked Bank of Ceylon as the No.1 Brand for the last five consecutive years and the bank is also ranked among the top 1000 banks in the world above all other Sri Lankan banks (country ranking is No.1) by ‘The Banker’ magazine UK in 2013. BOC has penetrated half of the population in the country with 10 million account holders with over 1,000 customer touch points covering all parts of the country. The Bank of Ceylon won a hat-trick for the second consecutive year at the National Business Excellence awards ceremony organised by NCCSL in 2013. Bank of Ceylon is also the only Sri Lankan bank with an international presence, with branches in Chennai, Male, Seychelles and a subsidiary in London.