BoC ranked Sri Lanka's number one brand

Brand Finance Lanka, a part of the Brand Finance network, a brand valuation and strategy company headquartered in the UK, published its Brands Annual edition recently and the Bank of Ceylon was selected as the number one brand for in the country for the fifth consecutive year.

According to the Brands Annual edition 2013, the brand value of the Bank of Ceylon has increased from Rs.15.19 billion to Rs.24.15 billion in 2013, is a growth of 62% compared to the previous year.

"BoC has the strength and the diversity of resources to offer its customers a range of financial solutions; from corporate banking, personal banking, SME banking, Islamic banking, investment banking, off-shore banking, development banking, international and treasury and trade financing services, through its branch network covering all parts of the country. It has over 1,000 customer touch points covering 606 branches and 473 ATMs and over 860 foreign corresponding agents," a bank spokesman said.

Bank of Ceylon, General Manager D. M. Gunesekera said, "Our brand promise is to serve the people. BoC which has served the banking and financial services sector since 1939, continues to assist the development of the country and guides customers and entrepreneurs to reach greater heights."

"The Bank implemented key strategies last year to increase its inward remittances and NRFC accounts. The bank provides financial support and guidance to agriculture, fisheries, industry and trade and to the SME sector which is the backbone of our economy," he said.

"The bank dominates Sri Lanka's financial services industrys. It is also equipped with a talented management team to take the BoC brand across the country. The Bank has 10 million account holders covering all parts of the country. The penetration of the BoC brand is 50 percent of our population and the bank has developed a strategy to penetrate into unbanked territories in the country by expanding its distribution network through technology driven channels along with strategic marketing communication". Gunesekera said, "BoC's brand equity has a high value in the market. BoC's financial stability, trust and 74 years of service makes it the number one bank in terms of profits, scale and choice of the people.

It has aggressive plans to expand its network internationally to make BoC an international brand in the 21st century. The Bank's sustainability initiatives are to empower the people of this country. Strategic CSR is important to uplift society by promoting economic growth as the economy contributes to the well-being of each individual. The bank's CSR focuses on education, entrepreneurship, national heritage protection, livelihood development, healthcare development, environmental protection, sports development and infrastructure development," the spokesman said.