Reaches a prestigious milestone:

BoC unleashes potential in banking sector

BANK of Ceylon has reached a prestigious milestone in its efforts to strengthen its market position as ‘Sri Lanka’s No.1 Bank’ by becoming the only state-owned entity to be ranked among LMD’s Most Respected Entities in 2007.

This is the first time Bank of Ceylon has been ranked among the top 30 in this important survey covering private and public enterprises, and it has jumped straight into position no. 20.

This clearly shows that in terms of corporate image, Bank of Ceylon is well ahead of all other state-owned banks and enterprises. Detailed results of the survey together with profiles of all entities that reached the top 30 are given in LMD’s special standalone edition of Most Respected Entities in Sri Lanka.

Commenting on Bank of Ceylon’s entry straight into the top 20, it states, “The public sector’s leading commercial bank, Bank of Ceylon, brings up the rear guard of the top 20.

Bank of Ceylon has focused on creating a powerful brand image with a satisfying brand experience, keeping customer needs at the forefront.

BoC amassed net earnings of Rs. 35 billion in 2006, making it one of the largest financial service entities in the island. To cap it all, BoC achieved a milestone in the banking industry in Sri Lanka by becoming the first commercial bank to secure an asset base in excess of Rs. 400 billion.”

The ‘Most Respected Entities’ rankings are based on a survey among the corporate sector, commissioned by Sri Lanka’s pioneering business journal LMD and conducted by the internationally renowned market research company ACNielsen.

The LMD-ACNielsen survey used a sample of 500 business leaders and senior executives of selected public and private entities in the Greater Colombo area, that best represented the mix of entities operating in Sri Lanka.

Respondents were asked to nominate the business entities they respected the most, evaluated in the ten key areas of financial performance, quality consciousness, management profile, honesty, innovation, dynamism, work environment, corporate social responsibility, vision, and national mindedness.