The Bank of Ceylon (BOC) did not or would not face any negative impact from the ratings downgrade as the bank is financially stable, said Chairman, BOC, Kanchana Ratwatte.
He was speaking at a press conference to outline the achievements and future activities of the bank last week.
The Bank will reach the golden landmark of Rs. 3 trillion in deposits soon making it the only single entity in Sri Lanka to achieve this. “We have the strength to face the new year with confidence and we also observe that the country's situation is improving with tourist arrivals and early hopes of a vaccine.”
Referring to some social media reports he said that rejection of Letters of Credit (LCs) by customers is not due to the lowering of BOC’s rating downgrade. “Even when there was no rating downgrade LCs have been rejected and this is due to customer or supplier issues.”
It was also disclosed that the Bank is not facing any Rupee or US dollar liquidity issues. “The bank also recorded the highest in terms of inward remittances of USD 2.7 billion as at end December 2020, an increase of 1.2% YoY,” said Deputy General Manager (International), R.M.N. Jeewantha. BOC has 100 exchange houses and many use apps providing migrant workers the convenience and security to remit funds. The pandemic has also discouraged people from remitting money through unsolicited channels.”
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. 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.
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.
The Bank’s deposit base, which represents 24% of the industry, increased during the year, despite low interest rates.
Bank’s deposit base of Rs. 2.3 trillion represents 33% of the Current and Saving deposit (CASA) base which generates funds at low cost. The bank also recorded the highest in terms of inward remittances of USD 2.7 billion as at end December 2020, an increase of 1.2% YoY.
To date, the Bank has disbursed over Rs. 39 billion under the “Saubagya Covid-19 Renaissance Facility” by extending working capital to Covid-19 affected businesses. The bank disbursed Rs. 128 billion for development and agriculture sector including credit facilities under “BOC Divi Udana” loan scheme.
“Despite challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bank was able to expand its customer service by opening one new branch and two new ‘Limited Service’ branches and has relocated 22 branches during the year in review. In addition, the Bank also installed 132 new CRMs,” said General Manager, BOC, D. P. K. Gunasekera.
“As at now the Bank has expanded its network up to 2000 local customer touch points serving millions of Sri Lankans across the country. We also see a surge in our online transactions.”
Chief Financial Officer Russell Fonseka said lower interest rates and reduction in administrative cost were among factors that helped the Bank remain profitable. - SS