SEC and CSE ring the bell for financial literacy

Podium participants (from left): CSE CRO Renuke Wijayawardhane, CSE CEO Rajeeva Bandaranaike, SEC Chairman Faizal Salieh, SEC DG Chinthaka Mendis, SEC Deputy DG Tushara Jayaratne, CSE Director Sujeewa Peiris, and CSE SVP Marketing Niroshan Wijesundere

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) and the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) joined stock exchanges from around the world last week to ‘Ring the market opening bell for Financial Literacy’, as part of the seventh annual World Investor Week (WIW) in 2023, launched by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

The global campaign was launched with the objective of raising awareness on the importance of investor education and investor protection. Global stock exchanges worldwide have joined the “Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy initiative in 2023”, which is an initiative pioneered by the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) to bring stakeholders together for a call to action on improving financial literacy. 

The Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy ceremony organised at the CSE was part of a series of initiatives to mark World Investor Week 2023. The event was attended by SEC Chairman Faizal Salieh, SEC Director General Chinthaka Mendis, SEC Deputy Director General Tushara Jayaratne, CSE Director Sujeewa Peiris, CSE Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rajeeva Bandaranaike, CSE Chief Regulatory Officer (CRO) Renuke Wijayawardhane, and the senior management and staff of the SEC and the CSE.

Welcoming the invitees to the ceremony, CSE CEO Rajeeva Bandaranaike said, “Today is an important event where we join our peer stock exchanges globally to ring the bell as a call for action, to bring attention to investors and to focus on issues such as investor protection, investor education and financial literacy.” 

“In this connection, we would like to appreciate the partnership and the support that the SEC and the stock brokering firms have been given to CSE, for a long period of time in the area of investor education.”

Bandaranaike also said, “The importance of financial literacy has already become a critical factor, due to the lack of knowledge and the lack of understanding in investing in equity products in terms of understanding the principle of risk and return and how to manage and minimise risk. Other emerging and frontier markets are also facing this issue, thus, there is a global effort to raise the levels of financial literacy.”

“Thus, it is evident that an increased focus to improving financial literacy has become very important and we are fortunate that we have the support from all the parties for that who represent the market, regulator, and stock brokering firms,” he added.

The CEO also pledged, to continue to work with the industry to keep investing resources into improving financial literacy.

In his address, SEC Chairman Faizal Salieh stated, “Financial literacy is an essential building block for financial inclusion. It is the key that unlocks financial independence and economic well-being. It enables people to make informed investment decisions, detect and protect themselves from frauds and scams, and gives them the trust and confidence they need to participate actively in the capital markets.”

Presenting the initiatives that SEC has taken to promote nation-wide financial awareness and education, Salieh added, “Protecting the interest of investors and building their trust and confidence in the Capital Markets is a key strategic priority of the SEC and we strive to ensure that both current and potential investors, are taken through the path of learning from basic financial literacy to financial competency.”

Salieh commended the efforts taken by the CSE to improve financial literacy in the country and noted, “Investor education is a huge task, and it requires long-term commitment. We know we cannot do it alone. I wish to call upon all stakeholders in the securities market to partner with us and embrace the responsibility of enhancing financial knowledge and inclusion in our country.”