‘BOC entering year of consolidation having done its duty towards the nation in 2020’

by Sanath Nanayakkare

The Bank of Ceylon (BOC) successfully weathered the ferocious pandemic year of 2020 while doing its duty towards the nation at an unprecedented time of difficulty, so I don’t see that we should worry about about any greater challenges in the year 2021, but harness that power of resilience and enter into a year of consolidation in 2021, BOC chairman Kanchana Ratwatte said yesterday.

The BOC chair said so in response to a query posed by The Island Financial Review at a media conference held by the Bank to announce the Bank’s performance during the year 2020 amid the COVID 19 crisis and its approach for 2021 and beyond.

Elaborating on the matter Ratwatte said: “The bank entered the year 2020 as the undisputed market leader with great hope and enthusiasm. However with the pandemic that engulfed the entire globe we had to change gear and focus as the unfolding situation compelled us to innovate fresh strategies to face the situation, The experienced human resource in the bank rose to the occasion and faced the situation with vigor and vitality. Bank of Ceylon continued to perform, playing a lead role in keeping the wheels of the economy moving as the crisis continued to the New Year as well.

“Following concessions announced by the government and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka with the advent of COVID-19, the bank strengthened its capabilities to cater to customers in the best possible way, while continuously delivering services with strict adherence to health and safety measures.

“To date, the bank has disbursed more than Rs. 39 billion under the “Saubagya COVID-19 Renaissance Facility” by extending working capital to COVID-19 affected businesses.

“Further the bank disbursed Rs. 128 billion for development and agriculture sector including credit facilities under “BOC DiviUdana” loans scheme. Despite the challenging situation in the country, the bank is moving forward with stable performance and reported a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs. 16.6 billion and Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs. 11.7 billion, for the nine months ending September 30, 2020.

“The total income of the bank for the period was Rs. 181.8 billion with a marginal increase of 2% YoY. The non-fund-based income for the period amounted to Rs. 12.9 billion showing an increase of Rs.1.7 billion YoY, and an exchange gain of Rs. 3.6 billion, which contributed to this growth.

“Amidst socio-economic challenges that prevailed due to the pandemic situation, the bank’s assets base grew by 17% to Rs. 2.8 trillion, backed by an increase of 25% in the loan book. The bank’s loan book stood at Rs. 1.9 trillion and both government and private sector lending contributed to growth, including lending to major infrastructure development projects initiated by the government, funding requirements for mid-corporates for business expansion, lending to the SME sector, and other priority sectors such as agriculture, fisheries and related industries.

“Term loans, scheme loans, personal loans and overdrafts are the key contributors to loan growth during the period. The term loan portfolio grew by 28% demonstrating the bank’s support in terms of working capital requirements.”