Bank of Ceylon (BoC) was founded in 1939, with Sir Ernest de Silva as its first chairman. At the time, Ceylon was a British colony and the then governor Sir Andrew Caldecott ceremoniously opened the bank on 1 August. The English government introduced the banking arm for its government-oriented businesses. Two years later, in 1941, BoC started to expand beyond the city of Colombo. It opened its first branch in Kandy. Subsequently BoC added branches in major cities such as Galle, Jaffna, Kurunegala, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Badulla, and Panadura. 
The saga of Bank of Ceylon (BOC) began on 1st of August 1939 under Bank of Ceylon Ordinance No. 53 of 1938, the Governor of Ceylon, Sir Andrew Caldecott, declared open the maiden office of Sri Lanka’s first state-owned commercial bank in Fort, Colombo. BOC is a licensed commercial bank established under the Banking Act No. 30 of 1988. As Bankers to the Nation, BOC reached out to all citizens of the country through its largest network over 627 branches connected online. BOC ATM network over 730 in numbers, serve the people 365 days 24 hours in all 25 districts of the country. The Bank has 13 Subsidiaries and 5 associate companies in its group structure. BOC diversified its operations in the United kingdom by upgrading its first overseas branch, London branch to a fully fledged bank operating as a subsidiary of BOC named Bank of Ceylon UK Ltd. BOC operates in 03 overseas locations, namely, Maldives,Chennai and Seychelles. 2 ATMs are located in Maldives. BOC represents the highest worldwide network with over 865 overseas correspondent banks and exchange companies. To serve the migrant communities of the country, we have expanded our services through our representatives at the exchange houses in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Italy, South Korea, France and Japan.
In attracting and maintaining public confidence in the institution especially because it is a Government-owned enterprise and the pivotal and dominant role of the Bank in the Sri Lankan economy carrying substantial influence and leadership over many matters of policy and practice, Bank of Ceylon pursues a strategy of being in line with best practices in respect of Corporate Governance. Bank complied with laws and regulations on Corporate Governance as the critical success factor of a sound control environment and improved operational efficiency and enhanced the brand image. Today having completed more than seven decades of glorious existence, the Bank is firmly entrenched as Sri Lanka’s premier financial services organization offering a broad range of services consists of commercial banking, trade finance, development financing, mortgage financing, lease financing, investment banking, corporate financing, dealing in Government securities, pawn brokering, credit card facilities, off-shore banking, foreign currency operations and other financial services. BOC holds the leadership position in its assets, deposits, and foreign currency remittances.
The Bank of Ceylon established its office and branch in India in Chennai. BOC offers a range of specialized facilities and services for its customers. The corporate banking services offered by the bank cater the various business and marketing needs of the companies in India. For NRIs, Bank of Ceylon has offered various banking facilities. Among the different types of deposit accounts available at the bank, one can choose between NRE Savings Bank Accounts, NRE Term Deposits and Foreign Currency Non Resident Accounts. Other specialized services available at the bank are Trade Finance Facilities, Credit Facilities, Safety Locker Facilities, Treasury & Money Market Operations and Correspondent Banking.