MBSL strengthens its Board of Directors with 2 new appointments

The Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka and Finance PLC (MBSL) has announced the appointment of two new Directors to its Board of Directors, enhancing the company’s corporate and financial strategic planning.

G. A. Jayashantha

M. P. Ruwan Kumara

The new Directors, M. P. Ruwan Kumara and G. A. Jayashantha will join MBSL’s Board of Directors as Non-Executive/Non-Independent Directors. Both Directors carry vast experience in the banking and finance sector with a majority of the experience being in strategic planning, financial markets, financial management and branch management.

“We are pleased to welcome both Directors to the MBSL Board and we are confident that they will contribute immensely towards MBSL’s capital management, financial planning initiatives, and future growth,” MBSL Management stated.  Ruwan Kumara currently serves in the Bank of Ceylon (BoC) Corporate Management team as the Deputy General Manager - Finance and Planning and counts over 18 years of experience in the bank. He is an expert in the areas of financial management, strategic planning, investment banking, commercial banking and overseas banking operations. He is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, Associate Member of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka, Associate Member of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka, and Member of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID).

Jayashantha currently serves as the BoC Deputy General Manager cum Chief Risk Officer and counts over 24 years of service at the bank. He is an expert in treasury management, dealing and primary dealer handling, assets and liability management, risk management, corporate recovery, offshore banking and branch operations. Jayashantha serves in multiple management committees providing policy and strategic expertise in the financial and property sector. He is also an Associate Member of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka. The Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka and Finance PLC reported mixed performance in 2020 with segments of the product portfolio performing well under the economic and COVID-19 pressures, whilst traditional product offerings suffered in the absence of access to regular market activities. Despite contracted performance which was common to the industry caused by the pandemic and the lockdown that followed, MBSL reported growth in select lending products such as gold loans and leasing.