CB appoints new Deputy Governors

• New Finance Ministry Secy appointed as Deputy Governor

The Monetary Board, with the concurrence of the Finance Minister, has promoted Assistant Governors S. R. Attygalle and H. A. Karunaratne to the post of Deputy Governor of the Central Bank (CBSL) with effect from 31 October 2018.

S. R. Attygalle has over 27 years of service in the Central Bank and prior to the appointment as a Deputy Governor, Attygalle held the position of Assistant Governor of the CBSL and has been released to the Ministry of Finance to serve as the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury.

 Attygalle has been appointed as the Secretary to the Treasury and the Ministry of Finance with effect from 31 October.

Attygalle holds a M.Sc. degree in Quantitative Development Economics from the Warwick University, UK, and a B.Sc. degree in Physical Science from the University of Colombo. 

Attygalle served in the Economic Research Department of the CBSL in different capacities until he was released to the Ministry of Finance in 2003. In the Ministry of Finance, Attygalle held many positions including Director General in both the Departments of Fiscal Policy and Public Enterprises. This exposure helped Attygalle to gain his expertise knowledge and experience in both fiscal and monetary policy.

Attygalle also served as the Chairman of the National Savings Bank and represented the Treasury on the Boards of several key State-owned enterprises and Statutory Boards, including the Bank of Ceylon, National Savings Bank, Sri Lanka Ports Authority and the Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd., Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, and the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka. Attygalle has also represented the Treasury in key committees appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers such as the Head of the technical team negotiating the Free Trade Agreement with China.

H. A. Karunaratne has over 32 years of experience in the Central Bank, especially in the areas of Economic and Price Stability, Financial System Stability and other agency functions carried out by the Central Bank. Prior to the appointment as a Deputy Governor, Karunaratne held the position of the Assistant Governor in-charge of Employees’ Provident Fund, Risk Management, and Secretariat Departments; and supervised the administrative matters of the Financial Intelligence Unit. 

In addition, Karunaratne served as the Secretary to the Monetary Board of the Central Bank for nearly four years. He also served as the Secretary to the Monetary Board Advisory Audit Committee, Secretary to the Board Risk Oversight Committee, Secretary to the Ethics Committee and the Head of Secretariat of the Whistleblowing Policy of CBSL.

Karunaratne holds a MA degree in Economics from Ohio University, USA, and a B.Sc. degree in Business Administration from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Karunaratne is an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.

Karunaratne currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (IBSL) and the Chairman of the Audit Committee of the IBSL. He has made a significant contribution towards achieving core objectives of the CBSL through his vast knowledge and experience locally as well as overseas especially in the areas of reserve management, debt management, securities markets, risk management, and financial intelligence. He has also published several research articles on the topics of reserve management, government debt securities market, derivative markets and primary dealer systems.