BoC achieves Rs 1 trillion balance sheet

Bank of Ceylon (BoC), the premier state bank in the country added another feather to its cap by becoming the first bank in Sri Lanka to achieve a Rs one trillion Balance Sheet on May 31.

BoC Chairman, Dr Gamini Wickramasinghe said that achieving a profit of Rs 10b and a Rs one trillion Balance Sheet was mentioned by us in 2008 and was included in the corporate plan and we worked towards achieving it. “When I said 1.10.12 most people said that 2012 will dawn but the Bank will not be able to achieve a Rs one trillion Balance Sheet and a profit of Rs 10b by the end of 2012. We were able to achieve a profit of Rs 10b by 2010 and a One trillion Balance Sheet by May 31 ahead of the scheduled date which is a achievement of all people who are working and worked in the past as well,” said Dr Wickramasinghe.

To achieve a Balance Sheet of Rs 500m it took over fifty years, while to achieve Rs one trillion it took only two and a half years.

BoC Chairman said that the Bank achieved these targets while fulfilling all its obligations to the Government and the people at the time of need.

He said to go forward from this target and achieve a Balance Sheet of Rs two trillion or more, the Bank has to increase its capital and expand globally. He said that they have requested the Government to invest profits the Bank achieved while we are planning to expand our presence globally.“

BoC was the first Bank to lower interest rates on the request of the Government and we reduced the interest of all loans including the old loans which resulted in us losing 50 percent of the profit”, he said.

Dr Wickramasinghe said that the Bank was present in the North and East from earlier and the, BoC has given Rs 80b as loans to the North and East. When the IDPs came to Chettikulam, the Bank supported them and is still there to help Small and Medium Industries and farmers.

Earlier, BoC had 17 branches in the North and East, while now it has increased to 50 in each district. Our main aim is not to make profits but to be there as a trusted banker, said Dr Wickramasinghe. The Bank is also doing its best to attract foreign exchange and said that while BoC attracts 50 percent of foreign exchange to the country, the other 23 banks obtain the balance.

BoC is also helping the Government to achieve a $ 4000 per capita income. To achieve this target, GDP should increase 2.5 times and all banks should increase their Balance Sheet to Rs 2.5 trillion. The Bank also supports to develop infrastructure in the country including the road network. BoC has also helped the boat- building industry by giving loans which also helped the people working in the industry as well as fisherman and their families. In addition we were able to save foreign exchange which was spent on the purchase of boats.

- SG