Bank of Ceylon Ends the First Quarter of 2023 with Positive Notes

Bank of Ceylon has reported 3.3 billion rupees of Profit Before Tax for the three months ended March 31, 2023.

The Bank’s interest income grew by 61 percent to 137.8 billion rupees primarily due to the increase in AWPLR. Interest expenses grew by 162 percent as the funding mix has been repriced at higher rates, resulting high cost of funding and leading to a 53 percent decline in net interest income by 21.2 billion rupees compared to 1Q -2022 since the Bank has not transferred the full impact of the increase in the market interests to its loyal customers to revive their businesses in this trying time despite many headwinds to the Bank’s current operating environment.

Net fee and commission income amounted to 4.4 billion rupees with 13 percent growth, mainly backed by an increase in commission income from card-related transactions and travel and remittance-related services. Income from trading and investment activities and other operating income resulted in a negative note due to the exchange loss reported during 1Q- 2023 in line with the 10 percent LKR appreciation.