‘Change is coming’ for BOC

Thursday, 31 July 2014 01:41 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

State giant and industry leader turns 75 years tomorrow
Chairman confident the nation will see a “new” BOC in just 18 months
Says current attitude and approach will not help bank sustain its leadership position
Stresses need to expand focus to private sector
Says BOC will become more customer-centric

Bank of Ceylon Chairman Air Chief Marshal Harsha Abeywickrama (centre) at the media briefing on the bank’s 75th anniversary. General Manager D.M. Gunasekara (left) and Senior Deputy General Manager, International, Treasury and Investment P.A. Lionel are also present – Pic by Lasantha Kumara

The Bank of Ceylon (BOC), turning 75 years tomorrow, expressed confidence yesterday in the institution evolving to become a new one altogether within just 18 months. Having grown from strength to strength in the past 75 years, BOC Chai-rman Air Chief Marshal Harsha Abeywickrama shared the institution is gearing up to embrace massive changes so that it continues to sustain its position of being the ‘Bankers to the Nation’ in the years to come. “In about 18 months from now the nation will see a new BOC. Its characteristics will not be the same as before. We are keen on ensuring that it continues to remain as the ‘Bankers to the Nation’ and for that the institution will be undergoing change in a number of areas. I am confident that with my leadership I will able to do what no other chairman has done before,” expressed a confident Abeywickrama, who only recently took up the responsibilities as Chairman. According to him, if BOC continues with its current attitude and approach, the bank will not be able to sustain its position as a leader in the industry for long. He stressed it is imperative for the bank to start paying attention to the private sector as well instead of focusing only on Government sectors. “For the past 75 years BOC has been focusing greatly on serving the Government sectors. With increasing competition in the banking industry, this will not be enough. We will be expanding our focus areas to serve the private sector as well as that is an area of great potential,” he said at an event held to mark the bank’s 75th anniversary, which it will celebrate tomorrow. The event was also attended by BOC Chairman D.M. Gunasekara, BOC Senior Deputy General Manager International Treasury and Investment P. A. Lionel and other senior officials of the institution. Abeywickrama pointed out that while BOC is used to having customers come to them, soon there will be a shift in the attitude where the bank will reach out to its customers instead. He said certain strategies were being put in place to make the bank customer-centric. To increase efficiency, BOC will be upgrading technologies and have state-of-the-art systems that will help divert man hours spent on paperwork to direct servicing of customers. An area of emphasis will also be customer care where the bank has received numerous complaints in the recent past according to the Chairman. “When the rate of change outside the institution is greater than the change within, the end will come from inside. We will not let that happen. There will be a change in the business orientation as well as the outlook. We will thrive to meet the environment and market changes and I will ensure that bank will flourish for the next 100 years,” expressed Abeywickrama. In additional to the massive internal change the bank is gearing up to undergo in the immediate future, he stated that leveraging on the strength of BOC’s strong balance sheet and the significant exposure it has gained in the international banking arena, the bank plans to continue to expand its overseas network by setting up branches in the African continent, India and few other emerging markets in the near future. BOC was inaugurated on 1 August 1939 with the patronage of the British Governor Sir Andrew Caldecott. In 1941 the bank opened its first outstation branch in the hill capital of Kandy. Orchestrating an expansion of its branch network it was able to reach all the main cities throughout the country. Currently it has 619 branches across the country. Apart from its main branches, BOC also maintains 15 SME units to encourage entrepreneurial growth at the grass root level. The bank’s overseas network expansion began in 1949 with the opening of its branch in London. It expanded to Male in 1981, Chennai in 1995 and Seychelles in 2014.