Bank of Ceylon to open branch in Capital City in November |23 October 2013

The Bank of Ceylon’s branch in Seychelles is set to open by the end of November, its country manager/chief executive Ranjith Haputhanthri told Seychelles Nation yesterday.

Also assistant general manager of the bank’s overseas branches, Mr Haputhanthri said the Bank of Ceylon received a proposal from the Sri Lankan government to consider opening a branch here and since then representatives of the largest bank in Sri Lanka have been coming to Seychelles frequently.

“The decision to open the Bank of Ceylon branch in Seychelles was taken in August this year and it has taken us two months to obtain our domestic and offshore banking licences and incorporation,” noted Mr Haputhanthri.

The bank, based on the second floor of the Capital City building, has started running advertisements here to recruit suitable candidates to work in the front office, customer service, as banking assistants and cashiers.

The other top two positions in the bank – deputy manager and operations manager – will be occupied by foreigners.

“The business environment in Seychelles is very good. We will be working cooperatively with the other banks and we intend to introduce new banking procedures on the market that will benefit the development of the country and enhance the living standard of the local community,” said Mr Haputhanthri.

He added: “I hope Bank of Ceylon’s presence will induce some significant changes in the Seychelles banking sector.”

When it opens its doors officially by the end of November, the bank hopes to attract corporations or large businesses, small and medium enterprises, and individual members of the public (retail banking) to deposit and lend money.

“A bank’s business is about depositing and lending money and we look forward to doing business here. It will take us at least two or three months to adjust to the Seychelles market,” said Mr Haputhanthri.

In a recent interview with Sri Lanka’s Daily News, Bank of Ceylon chairman Razik Zarook said the 100% government-owned bank decided to open the branch in Seychelles in response to numerous requests they received from both Seychelles and Sri Lanka.

"After the recent visit of President Malinda Rajapaksa to the country (Seychelles), there is tremendous economic interest and it's to cater to this that we decided to move in to Seychelles,” said Mr Zarook.

Bank of Ceylon has branches in Male (Maldives), Chennai (India), London (United Kingdom) and intends to open some more in other parts of the world in the future.