Sri Lanka's leading commercial bank and bankers to the nation The Bank of Ceylon (BoC) , has been adjudged the 17th "Strongest Bank in Asia Pacific" out of top 500 strongest banks in the year 2011 by the prestigious Asian Banker magazine.
In a comprehensive survey conducted by the magazine, the bank gained this honour surpassing some of the banking giants in Asia Pacific and the South Asian regions including India. This was reported in the "Asian Banker" special edition of October 2011. Details of the annual definitive ranking and survey of Asia Pacific's largest and strongest banks and the selection criteria were published in this special edition.
The Bank of Ceylon has gained the strength rank of 17 mainly due to its pragmatic and prudent financial management on the directions of BoC Chairman Dr. Gamini Wickramasinghe , and the dedication and commitment of the staff under the supervision of the bank’s top management. The Bank's corporate plan devised on the guidance of BoC chairman has helped immensely towards the progress of the bank proving that the state owned entities could be transformed to internationally acclaimed institutions through proper management.
Another significant factor was that the BoC has achieved this position, in the back drop of a major banking sector down turn in the US and Europe amidst global financial crisis. . By becoming one of the Strongest Bank in Asia Pacific , the BoC has proved that Sri Lanka'is highly suitable for foreign investment and the bank has the strength to carry out high investment banking, analysts said. This achievement was a clear signal for foreign investors to look at Sri Lanka positively, they added.
Under the "Asian Banker" survey, 500 Banks were rigorously evaluated on the six parameters of scale of assets, balance sheet growth of nett loans and deposits, risk management of the banks' operations, profitability and its sustainability, strength and credibility of loans disbursed and liquidity to meet negative events requiring cash outflow
According to the Survey, BoC excelled in its risk profile measuring on the Asian Banker Risk Index and when compared to strength rank it is ahead of many other banks including some of the Indian banks such as Axis Bank whose strength rank is 50 , HDFCC Bank( rank 73) and State Bank of India( rank 264)as well as DBS Group Singapore(rank19),. The Bank's sound capital adequacy further fortified its ability to withstand any shocks, the banks total asset base of Rs.779 billion, deposit base of Rs. 563 billion and net loans of Rs. 444 billion had surpassed all the other local commercial banks when considering financial performance of all these banks. BoC (rank 17) is the number one in terms of Strongest Bank in SriLanka, Followed by National Savings Bank(rank60), Peoples Bank(rank114), Sampath Bank(rank182), Commercial Bank( rank 193) , Hatton National Bank (rank253) and Seylan Bank( rank 370) the magazine observed.
Recognizing Bank's higher profitability the analysts said "...with assets of Rs. 779 billion in 2011 , BoC was still able to achieve a profit before tax of Rs. 10 billion , driven primarily by strong core-operating profit from improvement in loan disbursal and margin, compared to the aggregate of its domestic peers. BoC has a very strong risk profile reflected by its low volatility of returns and sound capital adequacy ratio."
The BoC has improved its position in the regions largest bank ranking category climbing steps from its 2010 position of 341 to 328th place. All the other local banks have lost their 2010 position. |
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