A special meeting was held today (Nov. 11) at the Presidential Secretariat to address relief measures for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) facing financial challenges.

The meeting was led by the Senior Additional Secretary to the President for Finance and Economic Affairs, Mr. G. N. R. D. Aponsu, and included officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and Sri Lanka Banks’ Association (Guarantee) Limited.

The discussions focused on the financial difficulties encountered by SMEs due to loan obligations.

Currently, debt recovery processes under the Parate law have been temporarily suspended for SMEs, with this suspension set to expire on December 15. The meeting considered potential steps that could be taken before the expiration date to further support struggling SMEs.

Attendees examined ways for the banking sector to provide additional support to SMEs and boost productivity in the economy. During the discussions, it was also decided to compile a comprehensive report on the loans taken by SMEs from banks. This report will serve as a basis for designing future relief measures.

Additionally, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and various commercial banks are evaluating the steps needed for the temporary suspension of debt recovery under the Parate law for SME loans.

The discussion was attended by several key officials, including Mrs. R. R. S. De Silva Jayathilake, Director of Bank Supervision at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and Mr. A. M. A. D. Amarakoon, Senior Assistant Director at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Also present were representatives from the Sri Lanka Banks’ Association (Guarantee) Limited: Mr. Indrajith Boyagoda, Secretary General; Mr. Dilshan Rodrigo, Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank; Mr. Manoj Akmeemana, Senior Deputy General Manager of Sampath Bank; Mr. Sampath Perera, Deputy General Manager of Bank of Ceylon; Mr. Nalin Samaranayake, Assistant General Manager of Commercial Bank; Mr. Nirosh Perera, Chief Recovery and Rehabilitation Officer of Hatton National Bank; and Mr. Bingumal Thewarathanthri, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank.

(President’s Media Division)