Bank of Ceylon, the No. 1 bank in more ways than one

Wednesday, 28 January 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Bank of Ceylon, Sri Lanka’s international bank, stands proud as its efforts have continued to pay off with both international and local acknowledgements in recent years. The bank thanks its customers, staff and stakeholders for the continuous encouragement they have given to the bank throughout its 75 year journey in the country’s banking and financial sector. These recognitions reflect the image Bank of Ceylon has built over a period of time as the No. 1 bank in Sri Lanka. “Seventy-five years in the banking sector in Sri Lanka has not been an easy one but we have managed to maintain the No. 1 position throughout these years. Therefore I affirm that our strength and stability is thoroughly time-tested,” Bank of Ceylon General Manager D.M. Gunasekara stated. “It is such a pleasure to see that we have covered all most all aspects of what a bank should be, in terms of brand value, corporate governance, reporting, international presence, international correspondents, corporate customer relationship building, enhancing productivity and stakeholder wealth, etc.” ‘Asia’s Best Brand’ One of the most significant awards that has been received by Bank of Ceylon was ‘Asia’s Best Brand’ award by the Chief Marketing Officers’ Council (CMO Council) based in Mumbai, India. Asia’s Best Brand Awards are judged by the Global Research Cell of the CMO Council and this award was presented to Bank of Ceylon after evaluating its ‘mind share,’ which indicates a brand’s strength inside the minds of customers; ‘market share,’ which shows a brand’s strength in the operating market in terms customer’s buying behavior; and ‘commitment share,’ which indicates a brand’s strength in encouraging customers to buy that brand in the future. Brand Finance Lanka, a subsidiary of Brand Finance network (UK), has ranked Bank of Ceylon as the No.1 brand in Sri Lanka for six consecutive years and has set a record being the only business to have become No. 1 continuously. Bank of Ceylon’s brand value has increased significantly to Rs. 30.83 billion in 2014. Global recognition The Bank of Ceylon is proud to receive global recognition once again as one of the top 1,000 banks in the world (with No.1 country rank), from the world’s premier banking and finance magazine, ‘The Banker’. The Top 1,000 banks were selected in recognition of their achievements as global leaders in the industry. The rankings are one of the industry’s most widely used indexes of global banking, and are internationally recognised as the definitive guide to the soundness, strength and profitability of banks. ‘The Banker’ magazine, first published in January 1926 in the UK and currently circulated over 180 countries, is the key source of data and analysis for the industry in international finance affairs. National productivity awards Four Bank of Ceylon branches won national productivity awards at the National Productivity Awards. Bank of Ceylon identifies enhancing its effectiveness and efficiency as a continuous process. Therefore the bank strategically planned ahead to convert its branch network to strive for excellence by carefully implementing business processes through concepts such as 5S, and by smoothening its business functions. The BOC Bambalapitiya Branch was selected as one of the best in the Service Sector – Small Organisations category. Respectively BOC Hingurakgoda, Kandy 2nd City, and Gampola Super Grade Branches won shared 3rd place. Further BOC Rambukkana, BOC Kadawatha earned special commendation and BOC Ella, BOC Lakeview, BOC Kahawatta, BOC Kilinochchi and BOC Kuruwita branches were also recognised at the awards ceremony. National Business Excellence awards The bank has won a triple hat-trick of awards at the National Business Excellence awards for three consecutive years. BOC won in the Excellence in Local Market Reach category, Runner-up in the Banking Sector category, and Runner up in the Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility category in 2014. The National Business Excellence Awards are some of the prime awards that recognise business organisations that make a significant contribution to the socio economic development of the country through exemplary business practices. The National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka looks at excellence in leadership, corporate governance, capital building, performance in management, local and global market reach, corporate social responsibility, environmental, sustainability and business and financial results. National Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka states that it has introduced more focus and sharpened its criteria in judging of winners, this year. Annual Report awards The Bank of Ceylon Annual Report 2013 ‘Bank Beyond’ won four awards at two International events. Bank of Ceylon was the winner for Corporate Governance Disclosure 2013 in Public Sector Banking Institutions Category – South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA). The bank also won three awards at the ARC International Awards: Gold Winner for the Financial Data in Bank – International Sector; Silver Winner for Written Text in Bank – International Sector; and Silver Winner for Traditional Annual Report in Bank – International Sector. The bank’s 2013 Annual Report ‘Bank beyond’ was themed after the bank’s 74-year journey in the Sri Lanka’s banking and financial sector. The bank ensures that its Annual Report complies with the standards set by regulatory bodies and international reporting guide lines such as International Integrated Reporting (IIR) framework issued by the International Integrated Reporting Council and G4 guidelines issued by the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) for sustainability reporting Sustainability and Global Commerce Excellence awards Recognising the bank’s contribution towards uplifting the life of rural and underdeveloped segments in society, the ‘BOC Mithuru’ project received an award as the Best Sustainability Project under the Best Project Category (Other) from the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce at the Best Sustainability Awards. This is a strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project of the Bank of Ceylon which aims to empower the most needy segment in society to become self-sufficient. BOC Mithuru has been designed on a vision of empowering the grass root level of the Sri Lankan economy in order to reduce poverty in the society. Global Commerce Excellence Awards 2014 has awarded the Bank of Ceylon for contributing to the country’s GDP growth under the ‘Public Sector Institute’ category. This ceremony is organised in association with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and was coordinated by the Shippers’ Academy Colombo.