Bank of Ceylon facts for kids
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| Government-owned corporation | |
| Industry | Banking, financial services |
| Founded | 1939 |
| Founder | Sir Ernest de Silva |
| Headquarters | BOC Square, Bank of Ceylon Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
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Number of locations
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 582 (2020) |
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Area served
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Sri Lanka Maldives India United Kingdom Seychelles |
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Key people
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Ronald C. Perera (Chairman)
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| Services | Retail banking, corporate banking, investment banking |
| Revenue | Rs 252.756 billion (US$ 1.325 billion) (2020) |
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Operating income
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 Rs 22.246 billion(US$ 333.113 million) (2020) |
| Rs 16.307 billion (2020) (US$ 95.302 million) (2020) |
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| Total assets | Rs 2.982 trillion (2020) (US$ 16.002 billion) (2020) |
| Total equity | Rs 156.659 billion (2020) (US$ 840.410 million) (2020) |
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Number of employees
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8,479 (2020) |
| Parent | Ministry of Finance |
| Subsidiaries | Ceybank Asset
Bank of Ceylon (UK) Limited (100%) |
Bank of Ceylon (BOC) is a big bank in Sri Lanka. It is owned by the government. Its main office is in a tall, round building in Colombo.
BOC has many branches and automated teller machines (ATMs) across Sri Lanka. It also has special machines called CDMs and CRMs. You can also call them anytime for help.
The bank also has offices outside Sri Lanka. It has branches in Malé (Maldives), Chennai (India), and Seychelles. There is also a special company in London that belongs to BOC.
How Bank of Ceylon Started
The Bank of Ceylon (BOC) was created in 1939. Sir Ernest de Silva was its first chairman. At that time, Sri Lanka was called Ceylon and was ruled by the British. The British governor, Sir Andrew Caldecott, officially opened the bank on August 1.
The British government started this bank to help with its own money matters. Just two years later, in 1941, BOC began to open branches outside Colombo. The first one was in Kandy. Soon, BOC opened branches in other big cities like Galle and Jaffna.
Important Moments in BOC's History
- 1948: Ceylon became independent from the British. Sri Lanka then took control of its own money system. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka was set up in 1949. It became responsible for how money works and for checking on banks.
- 1949: BOC opened its first office outside Sri Lanka. This was in London, United Kingdom. This branch helped the bank and the government with international business.
- 1953: Chelliah Loganathan became the first Sri Lankan to be the General Manager and CEO. He left the bank in 1969.
- 1961: The government took over the bank. This was done by T. B. Ilangaratne, who was a minister at the time.
- 1972: The country's name officially changed to Sri Lanka. The government also made a law that made BOC open branches in almost all villages. This helped the bank reach many people in rural areas.
- 1979: The government made it easier to exchange money with other countries. Because of this, BOC opened its first Foreign Currency Unit. This unit helped people deal with money from other countries.
- 1981: BOC opened its second overseas branch. This one was in Malé, the capital of Maldives.
- 1982: BOC started the first merchant bank in Sri Lanka. It was named the Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka.
- 1987: The bank moved into its new main office. This building is 32 stories tall. People in Sri Lanka sometimes call it Pittu bambuwa, which is a funny name for a cylindrical cooking tool. The new building brought all the bank's main offices together.
- 1989: BOC worked with Visa International to bring the first credit cards to Sri Lanka.
- 1994: BOC joined SWIFT, a global system for sending money. This helped BOC connect with other banks around the world.
- 1995: BOC opened more branches in other countries. It opened offices in Karachi, Pakistan, and Chennai, India. This helped the bank work with other countries in Asia.
- 2003: BOC bought a part of a new bank in Pakistan called Dawood Bank. Later, this bank changed its name to Burj Bank. BOC then moved all its business in Pakistan to this new bank.
- 2010: BOC changed its London branch into a separate company.
- 2014: BOC started doing business in Seychelles.
- 2015: BOC signed an agreement with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
More About Banks
- Banks around the world
- Banks in Sri Lanka
- Banks in Asia
