Bank of Ceylon (BOC; Sinhala: ලංකා බැංකුව ''Lanka Bænkuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை வங்கி ''Ilangai Vangi'') is a state-owned, major commercial bank in Sri Lanka. Its head office is located in an iconic cylindrical building in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

. The bank has a network of 628 branches, 689

automated teller machine An automated teller machine (ATM) or cash machine (in British English) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, fun ...

s (ATMs), 123 CDM network, and 15 regional loan centres within the country. It also has an around-the-clock call centre and an around the clock branch at its Colombo office. In addition to the local presence, the bank maintains an off-shore banking unit in the head office in Colombo, three branches in

Malé Malé (, ; dv, މާލެ) is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 252,768 and an area of , it is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city is geographically located at the southern ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, and

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

, and a subsidiary in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

History

Bank of Ceylon (BOC) was founded in 1939, with

Sir Ernest de Silva Sir Albert Ernest de Silva (26 November 1887 – 9 May 1957) was a Ceylonese business magnate, banker, barrister and public figure, considered to be the most prominent Ceylonese philanthropist of the 20th century. A wealthy and influential polym ...

as its first chairman. At the time, Ceylon was a British colony and the then governor Sir Andrew Caldecott ceremoniously opened the bank on 1 August. The British government introduced the banking arm for its government-oriented businesses. Two years later, in 1941, BoC started to expand beyond the city of Colombo. It opened its first branch in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

. Subsequently, BOC added branches in major cities such as

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern ...

, Jaffna,

Kurunegala Kurunegala ( si, කුරුණෑගල, ta, குருணாகல்) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, fr ...

, Batticaloa,

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

, Badulla, and Panadura. * 1948: Ceylon obtained her independence from the British; the monetary authorities were transferred to Sri Lanka. The

Central Bank of Sri Lanka The Central Bank of Sri Lanka ( CBSL; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව, Sri Lanka Maha Bankuwa) is the monetary authority of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1950 under the Monetary Law Act No.58 of 1949 (MLA), it is a ...

was established in 1949 and it assumed responsibility for monetary policy and bank regulation. * 1949: BoC opened its first overseas branch in London, United Kingdom. The branch helped the bank and the government handle their international business. * 1953: Chelliah Loganathan was the first Sri Lankan appointed as General Manager and Chief Executive Officer. He resigned in 1969. * 1961: T. B. Ilangaratne, Minister of Commerce, Trade, Food and Shipping oversaw the nationalisation of the bank. * 1972: The then government declared the name of the country to be Sri Lanka. However, the bank did not rename itself accordingly. The government also passed the Agricultural Productivity Law, which forced the bank to open Agrarian Service Centre branches in almost all villages in the country. As a result, the branch network of the bank expanded tremendously to the majority of Sri Lanka's rural areas. * 1979: the then government relaxed the exchange control regulations. This liberalization of exchange control regulations led the bank to open its first Foreign Currency Unit to handle the booming demand for non-local currency business. * 1981: BOC passed another big milestone by opening the second overseas branch, this one in

, Maldives. * 1982: BOC founded the first merchant bank in Sri Lanka, which was named the Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka. * 1987: The bank moved into its 32-storey headquarters. Sri Lankans have nicknamed the building ('' Pittu bambuwa'' "පිට්ටු බම්බුව") a Sinhalese term used for a cylindrical cooking implement. The new building enabled the bank to house all its administrative offices and central operations in one location. * 1989: The bank joined with the

Visa International Visa Inc. (; stylized as ''VISA'') is an American Multinational corporation, multinational financial services corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California. It facilitates electronic funds transfers throughout the world, most commonly ...

to introduce the first credit cards business to Sri Lanka. * 1994: BOC joined

SWIFT Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

at the SWIFT BIC BCEYLKLX along with 15 other financial institutions in Sri Lanka. * 1995: BOC expanded its foreign operations by opening its third foreign branch in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

and fourth in

, India. This facilitated the bank's operations in the

Asian Clearing Union The Asian Clearing Union (ACU) was established on December 9, 1974, at the initiative of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The primary objective of ACU, at the time of its establishment, was to se ...

. * 2003: BOC took a 15% stake in newly formed Dawood Bank in

, which was later renamed as Burj Bank. BOC then transferred all its operations in Pakistan to the new bank. * 2010: BOC converted its branch in London to a subsidiary. * 2014: BOC started its commercial operations in Seychelles. * 2015: BOC signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

References

External links

Bank of Ceylon

Central Bank of Sri Lanka

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka – Official Portal

Our History
{{Authority control 1939 establishments in Ceylon Banks established in 1939 Banks of Sri Lanka Ceylon in World War II Nationalised companies in Sri Lanka State owned commercial corporations of Sri Lanka Banking in Sri Lanka

History

See also

References

External links