MBSL seminar on ‘Implications of the new Finance Business Act’ on 19 September

Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka PLC (MBSL) has organised a seminar on ‘Implications of the new finance business Act’ which will be held at Cinnamon Lakeside Earls Court on 19 September. The guest speaker at the event will be the renowned President’s Counsel Dr. Dayanath Jayasuriya.

The areas that will be elaborated upon consist of the concepts of finance business and deposit, powers of the regulator, duties of directors, auditors and senior management, impact on related entities, need for more effective corporate governance and the way forward to address conceptual and operational issues and problems.

The risk of a collapse of financial institutions cannot be totally eliminated from the current environment. However by implementing proper processes and procedures to prevent deviation and a ‘zero tolerance policy’ in respect of illegal operations and mismanagement will make the business environment less vulnerable to risks.  The need to amend the Finance Companies Act which was enacted 20 years ago has been felt by the financial sector as well as the general public to suit the current context. It has been necessary to augment the supervisory powers in respect of the licensed finance companies to effectively curb unauthorised deposit taking persons and institutions. The new Finance Business Act No. 42 of 2011 has strengthened the powers of Sri Lanka’s banking regulatory body which is the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in order to protect depositors and institutions.  This Act provides the Central Bank of Sri Lanka more authority to regulate the banking and finance industry through a variety of measures.  

It is important for the business community and the public to have a broad understanding of the nature and scope of the provisions in the new Act. The program is aimed for key strategic personnel of banks, insurance companies, finance companies, licensed specialised banks, regulators of such institutions, sales and marketing staff, managing directors, directors of companies, CEOs, general managers, CFOs, finance managers, lawyers, company secretaries, analysts, and people with special interest in the areas covered by the new finance business act and the general public.