CBSL says it will maintain financial stability ; Fmr. State Minister of Finance requests to restore trust in the system

COLOMBO (News 1st): The Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Prof. W.D. Lakshman says the Central Bank will use all available tools at its disposal to maintain financial system stability. "It remains committed to keep the deposits of the general public safe from economic and financial fallout of COVID-19 and similar future unforeseen events," CBSL Governor said. It also must be noted that the Central Bank will not hesitate to take legal action against individuals and groups spreading false or misleading information with intentions of creating unjustified disruptions in the bank and non-bank financial sectors, Prof. W.D. Lakshman added. Speaking about the matter, former State Minister of Finance Eran Wickremeratne said the Central Bank has the primary responsibility of making sure the financial institutions are stable and the depositors are protected. "We've had some finance companies collapse in the past and also we have some companies which receive licenses during the period of Mahinda Rajapaksa as finance minister which have also proven to be reckless in terms of issuance of finance company licenses because some of them have been in trouble. This situation must not arise again," the former State Minister of Finance added. He said the way to protect the financial system is to make sure that there is complete independence of the Central Bank. "As I have mentioned previously, 2 members of the monetary board were pressured to move out and that was unfortunate. That should not be the case because the whole system rests on trust and trust must be restored," Eran Wickremeratne said.