Dr. Kenneth De Zilwa joins Lanka Rating Agency Board

Top professional Dr. Kenneth De Zilwa has joined the Board of Lanka Rating Agency from July 2024. With the latest appointment the Lanka Rating Agency Board of Directors comprises Chairman Anil Amarasuriya, Nigel Bartholomeusz, Prof. Anil Jayantha Fernando, Anura Fernando, Usman Haider, Niranjan Mendis, Avishka Perera and Dr. Kenneth De Zilwa.

Lanka Rating Agency is a credit rating agency operating in Sri Lanka and licenced by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka. Lanka Rating has a technical affiliation agreement with Pakistan Credit Rating Agency.

Top business cycle economist and senior banker, Dr. Kenneth De Zilwa was the 5th Chairman of LankaPay. Dr. De Zilwa was appointed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for a tenure of three years.

Dr. De Zilwa counts for over 20 plus years of experience in banking, covering Risk Management, Trade Finance, and also managing Investment Banking businesses at HSBC and Citi Bank NA, and held senior managerial level across all verticals. He is an expert in Treasury and Capital Markets, especially in the areas of risk management, money markets, and debt markets, in both domestic and international financial markets, alike. He was a part of the Global Advisory team for the Government of Sri Lanka’s USD initial Sovereign Bond Issuance and worked closely with the senior officials of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and Private Banks. He was instrumental in drafting the derivative guidelines for the market during his tenure at HSBC.

Dr. De Zilwa was also appointed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to Chairman of the Financial Systems Stability Consultative Committee which overlooks systemic and macro-prudential conditions. He was also appointed by the Governor to the Monitory Policy Consultative Committee as a board member and was also a Board Member of the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS). 

He was also the President of the Sri Lanka Forex Association and has been instrumental in setting up of the ACI Market Ethics Committee, Education Committee, and a Regulatory Framework, inspiring and leading the Association to new heights. 

Dr. De Zilwa was also appointed by UNDP as a consultant to the Finance and Planning Ministry of Sri Lanka, apart from being a consultant to several leading international audit firms, such as, KPMG and Price Waterhouses Coopers he was an advisor to local and international organisations.

Dr. De Zilwa holds a Ph.D., an MA in Economics, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Development Economics from the University of Colombo. He also holds an MA in Economics for Development from the ISS/Erasmus University, Netherlands, apart from the Postgraduate Diploma in Bank Management and Finance from the Institute of Bankers Sri Lanka.