The banking sector in Sri Lanka is monitored by the Bank Supervision Department of the
Central Bank of Sri Lanka
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka ( CBSL; si, ශ්රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව, Sri Lanka Maha Bankuwa) is the monetary authority of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1950 under the Monetary Law Act No.58 of 1949 (MLA), it is a ...
under the Banking Act, Monetary Law Act and the Exchange Control Act.
Three types of financial institutions are permitted under Banking Act and the Finance Companies Act to operate in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
by the
Central Bank of Sri Lanka
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka ( CBSL; si, ශ්රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව, Sri Lanka Maha Bankuwa) is the monetary authority of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1950 under the Monetary Law Act No.58 of 1949 (MLA), it is a ...
. They are
# Licensed Commercial Banks
# Registered Finance Companies
# Licensed Specialized Banks
These institutions can accept deposits from the public. The number of licensed specialized banks reduced from 14 to 9 and the number of registered financial institutions increased from 31 to 36 during the period of 2007 to 2010. The current
list of banks in Sri Lanka
This is a list of banks in Sri Lanka.
Central Bank
*Central Bank of Sri Lanka
Licensed Commercial Banks
# Amana Bank
#Bank of Ceylon
#Bank of China
# Cargills Bank
#Citibank
#Commercial Bank of Ceylon
#Deutsche Bank
#DFCC Bank
# Habib Bank
#Ha ...
is published by
Central Bank of Sri Lanka
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka ( CBSL; si, ශ්රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව, Sri Lanka Maha Bankuwa) is the monetary authority of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1950 under the Monetary Law Act No.58 of 1949 (MLA), it is a ...
periodically.
History
The Thonigala Rock Inscription located in the modern day
Vavuniya District
Vavuniya (, romanized: ''Vavuṉiyā'', , romanized: ''Vavuniyāva''). Vavuniya City is the capital of Vavuniya District in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka and the largest city in the Northern Province. The municipality is administered by Vavu ...
, dated in the third year of
King Kithsirimevan (also known as Kirthi Sri Meghavarna) who reigned in the 4th century A.D., records that a certain minister deposited some quantities of grain and beans with a guild in the northern quarter of the city with the stipulation that the capital should remain unspent and the interest should be utilised for providing meals to the monks of the Yahisapavata monastery during the monsoon season of every year. The inscription describes how much interest is to be taken and outlines the different kinds of provisions to be supplied for feeding the monks.
Changes in the 1980s
The Sri Lankan banking industry was changed during the late 1980s with the introduction of
automation
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...
by private banking corporations. Previously, few foreign banks were operating within Sri Lanka with few branches such as
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (), commonly known as HSBC (), was the parent entity of the multinational HSBC banking group until 1991, and is now its Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific subsidiary. The largest bank in Hong K ...
, etc. HSBC was using interactive electronic customer interfaces such as
automated teller machine
An automated teller machine (ATM) or cash machine (in British English) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, fun ...
s (ATMs). These facilities were limited to higher-end customers.
In 1986,
Sampath Bank
Sampath Bank PLC ( si, සම්පත් බැංකුව, sampat bæṁkuva) is a licensed commercial bank incorporated in Sri Lanka in 1987 with 229 branches and 373 ATMs island-wide. It has won the "Bank of the Year" award by "The Banker" ...
opened, offering customers access to their account from any branch, instant
money transfers within cities and access to
automated teller machine
An automated teller machine (ATM) or cash machine (in British English) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, fun ...
s (ATMs). Today, the entire banking sector in Sri Lanka offers automated banking systems with ATMs for customers, for faster, and after-hour services. The working hours of the Sri Lankan banking sector have now changed from 8 hours, 5 days a week system to a
24/7
In commerce and industry, 24/7 or 24-7 service (usually pronounced "twenty-four seven") is service that is available at any time and usually, every day. An alternate orthography for the numerical part includes 24×7 (usually pronounced "twenty ...
service.
Telephone banking
Telephone banking is a service provided by a bank or other financial institution, that enables customers to perform over the telephone a range of financial transactions which do not involve cash or Financial instruments (such as cheques), without ...
and
internet banking
Online banking, also known as internet banking, web banking or home banking, is an electronic payment system that enables customers of a bank or other financial institution to conduct a range of financial transactions through the financial inst ...
facilities have become more popular added features of the banking industry with the growing popularity of modern
telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
technology among Sri Lankans.
These changes helped some private sector banks to expand rapidly while increasing profitability; some banks have introduced new concepts such as "student banking centers"
Banking education
The
Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka
Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka, also abbreviated as IBSL, is a professional apex body of the banking education in Sri Lanka. It is one of the prominent institutes which carryout banking courses for the students and it is closely associated with ...
(IBSL), established under Act of Parliament No. 26 of 1979, is the apex body governing the banking education. Membership of the institute has five categories: Honorary Fellows, Fellows (life), Associate (life) Members, Associate Members and Student Members (Active).
It awards two internationally recognized qualifications: the Certificate in Banking and Finance (CBF) and the Diploma in Banking and Finance (DBF).
The College of Banking & Finance is the training division of the institute and conducts courses leading to these qualifications and in basic computer skills. School leavers are allowed to join the institute and acquire banking qualifications which are recognized internationally, including the UK.
In addition, the Centre for Banking Studies of the
Central Bank of Sri Lanka
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka ( CBSL; si, ශ්රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව, Sri Lanka Maha Bankuwa) is the monetary authority of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1950 under the Monetary Law Act No.58 of 1949 (MLA), it is a ...
provides training opportunities to bank employees.
Islamic banking
The Banking Act No 30 of 1988 was amended in March 2005 to accommodate the concepts of
Islamic banking
Islamic banking, Islamic finance ( ar, مصرفية إسلامية), or Sharia-compliant finance is banking or financing activity that complies with Sharia (Islamic law) and its practical application through the development of Islamic economic ...
.
[R. Farook (2007).Islamic banking and finance in Sri Lanka: A paradigm of success. The Sunday Times Online. http://sundaytimes.lk/071230/FinancialTimes/ft332.html]
See also
*
List of banks in Sri Lanka
This is a list of banks in Sri Lanka.
Central Bank
*Central Bank of Sri Lanka
Licensed Commercial Banks
# Amana Bank
#Bank of Ceylon
#Bank of China
# Cargills Bank
#Citibank
#Commercial Bank of Ceylon
#Deutsche Bank
#DFCC Bank
# Habib Bank
#Ha ...
References
{{Economy of Sri Lanka