• Administrative Penalties imposed by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) on Financial Institutions from 27 September to 31 December 2023

    By virtue of the powers vested under Section 19 (1) read together with section 19 (2) of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006 (FTRA), financial penalties are imposed on Institutions for non-compliances with the provisions of the FTRA. The penalty may be prescribed taking into consideration the nature and gravity of the relevant non-compliances.

    Accordingly, as Sri Lanka’s regulator for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), the FIU collected penalties as indicated below, amounting to Rs. 14 million in total from 27 September to 31 December 2023 to enforce compliance on Financial Institutions. The money collected as penalties were credited to the Consolidated Fund.

  • Financial Intelligence Unit of Sri Lanka entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Excise Department of Sri Lanka

    In terms of the provisions of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006 (FTRA), the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Sri Lanka entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Excise Department of Sri Lanka on January 09, 2024 at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to exchange information related to investigations and prosecutions of money laundering, terrorist financing and other related crimes.

    Mr. J M S N Jayasinghe, Commissioner General of Excise and Mrs. E H Mohotty, then Director, FIU signed the MOU on behalf of the respective institutions in the presence of Dr. P Nandalal Weerasinghe, the Governor of the CBSL, who is also the Chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) National Coordinating Committee.

  • The Central Bank of Sri Lanka releases the Monetary Policy Report - February 2024

    The Central Bank of Sri Lanka released the Monetary Policy Report - February 2024 today (15.02.2024) in keeping with the requirements of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Act, No. 16 of 2023. The content of this Report is mainly based on information that was considered by the Monetary Policy Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in formulating the monetary policy decision during the January 2024 review.

  • Sri Lanka Purchasing Managers’ Index (Manufacturing and Services) - January 2024

    Purchasing Managers’ Indices indicate an expansion in manufacturing and services activities in January 2024.

    Sri Lanka Purchasing Managers’ Index for Manufacturing (PMI – Manufacturing) recorded an index value of 55.6 in January 2024, indicating an expansion in manufacturing activities.

    Sri Lanka Purchasing Managers’ Index for Services (PMI – Services) indicated an expansion in services activities in January 2024 as reflected by the Business Activity Index, which recorded an index value of 60.1.

  • Appointment of Two New Members to the Governing Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka

    In terms of the provisions of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Act, No. 16 of 2023, the Governing Board (GB) of the CBSL has been established as the body responsible for overseeing the administration and management of the affairs of the CBSL and determination of the general policies of the CBSL.

    Governing Board

    The GB comprises the Governor of the CBSL, Dr. P Nandalal Weerasinghe, who serves as the Chairman of the GB, Mr. A N Fonseka (Appointed Member of the Monetary Board of the CBSL since 27.07.2022 who continued to serve as a Member of the GB), Dr. Ravi Ratnayake (appointed on 21.09.2023), Mr. Anushka S Wijesinha (appointed on 21.09.2023) and Mr. Vish Govindasamy (appointed on 26.10.2023).

    Further, we hereby announce the appointments of Mr. Rajeev Amarasuriya and Mr. Manil Jayesinghe to the GB. The profiles of the newly appointed members are as follows:

  • Relaxation of Restrictions Imposed on the Standing Facilities

    The Central Bank of Sri Lanka introduced restrictions on the usage of the Standing Facilities by the Licensed Commercial Banks (LCBs) under the Open Market Operations (OMOs), with effect from 16 January 2023. Accordingly, access to the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) was limited to a maximum of five (05) times per calendar month, while access to the Standing Lending Facility (SLF) was limited to 90 per cent of the Statutory Reserve Requirement (SRR) of each LCB, at any given day. These measures were imposed with the intention of reducing the overdependence of LCBs on the overnight facilities offered by the Central Bank, supporting the reactivation of the domestic money market, particularly the call money market, and inducing LCBs to introduce internal corrective measures.

  • The Government of Sri Lanka and the World Bank sign an agreement for financing of $150 million to strengthen the resilience of Sri Lanka’s financial sector

    The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the World Bank signed an agreement for $150 million in financing for Sri Lanka to strengthen the resilience of the financial sector through the Financial Sector Safety Net Strengthening Project (FSSNP). In parallel, the project agreement between the World Bank and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) was also entered in respect of the project implementation arrangements.

    The project development objective is to strengthen Sri Lanka's financial sector safety net with the focus on the Sri Lanka Deposit Insurance Scheme (SLDIS), which is managed by the CBSL. The project also aims to strengthen the financial and institutional capacity of SLDIS in line with international best practices for effective deposit insurance schemes.

  • Governing Board Appoints Six New Assistant Governors

    The Governing Board, at its meeting held on 19th January 2024 promoted Dr. C Amarasekara, Mrs. W A Dilrukshini, Dr. P K G Harischandra, Mrs. D S W Samaratunga, Mrs. E H Mohotty and Mrs. R D T Gunasekara to the post of Assistant Governors with effect from 22nd January 2024.

  • External Sector Performance - December 2023

    Merchandise trade deficit for 2023 recorded the lowest level since 2010, supported by relatively larger contraction in import expenditure than that of export earnings. 

    The trade deficit widened in December 2023 compared to December 2022. However, imports continued to remain moderated, despite recent relaxations of import restrictions.

    Workers’ remittances recorded a healthy level of around US Dollars 6 billion in 2023 and recorded the highest monthly value in December 2023 since April 2021. 

    Earnings from tourism for the year 2023 are estimated to have surpassed US dollars 2 billion as a result of a notable revival in tourist arrivals.

    Foreign investments in the government securities market recorded net inflows in 2023.

  • CCPI based headline inflation continued to increase in January 2024

    Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year (Y-o-Y) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI, 2021=100) increased to 6.4% in January 2024 from 4.0% in December 2023. This increase in the headline inflation is mostly in line with the projections envisaged by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).

    The Food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 3.3% in January 2024 from 0.3% in December 2023, while the Non-Food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 7.9% in January 2024 from 5.8% in December 2023. Monthly change of CCPI recorded 2.87% in January 2024 due to the price increases of 1.21% observed in the items of Food category and 1.66% observed in the items of Non-Food category. Meanwhile, the core inflation (Y-o-Y), which reflects the underlying inflation in the economy, increased to 2.2% in January 2024 from 0.6% in December 2023.

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