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BOC increases assets to Rs. 3 t in 2021

04 Apr 2021

Bank of Ceylon (BOC) communicated its performance and growth in the financial year of 2020 amidst the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic along with the recent growth in assets worth Rs. 3 trillion on Wednesday (31), The Sunday Morning Business learns. Speaking at a conference, BOC Assistant Manager Ruwan Kumara stated that according to his personal views, 2020 was a challenging year.  He further mentioned that the bank has had growth in several areas when compared to 2019, along with its performance amidst a challenging year.   Elaborating further, Kumara revealed the growth in assets. It was highlighted that the increased assets recorded a growth of 23.5%, which amounted to Rs. 2.98 trillion as of 31 December 2020.  Furthermore, BOC Chief Financial Officer Russel Fonseka reported that the assets also increased to Rs. 3 trillion within the first quarter of this year, which was highlighted to consist of assets from businesses and consumers from various sectors of the economy.  “BOC is one of the main banks in the country. Amidst last year’s challenges, the strength and resilience to develop, which the staff had, was more than sufficient to make 2020 a successful year, regardless of the challenges,” Fonseka commented.  Moreover, it was highlighted that the loans given in 2020 had increased as well.  “The special part about this includes that we neared this growth in the second quarter in the year 2020. Thus, we hope that the 2020 second quarter debt growth or the results of the increased loans that were given, would be seen in the following years ahead,” Kumara added.  Furthermore, it was also mentioned that the proposals that the bank received have also increased by 6%. Thereby, BOC expressed its hope of seeing the results of the activities of the said proposals during this year. In addition to this, BOC also reported that the balance sheet of the bank consists of assets of 83%, which belongs to consumer savings primarily.  Also,  23.4% of growth in consumer savings was said to be seen in the previous year, which amounted to savings worth Rs. 2.5 trillion. Further, minor savings were said to have a 3% growth compared to 2019.  The total income reportedly amounted to Rs. 247 billion, out of which Rs. 226 billion was the income earned out of interest and non-interest income amounted to Rs. 20.8 billion.  In addition to this, the operating income of 2020 amounted to Rs. 93.3 billion, which was said to be a  2.2% growth amidst challenges.  Also, the cost-to-income ratio was also said to have a 37% reduction, which displays the bank’s efforts in reducing costs. Furthermore, it was also mentioned that the operating profit saw a 29% increase followed by the profit after tax of 2020 which amounted to Rs. 18.8 billion net profit. “I think BOC is one of the banks amongst other banks that have achieved this amount of profit in a very challenging year,” Kumara commented. He concluded, stating that along with these profits, BOC was able to increase its shareholder value to Rs. 156.7 billion, which is a 10% increase compared to 2019. Moreover, it was highlighted that the bank worked towards an increased market share in 2020, which included a 23% market share amongst banks that issue loans and 24% in terms of savings. 


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