Bank of Ceylon Chennai hosts workshop on ACU mechanism for Sri Lankan commercial banks

The Bank of Ceylon Chennai Branch, the only branch of a Sri Lankan bank in Indian soil, in association with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conducted an exclusive workshop on Asian Clearing Union (ACU) mechanism on 5 November in Chennai, India for the officers of 12 Sri Lankan commercial banks engaged in international trade business. This was an exceptional landmark in banking history that such a workshop for the executives of Sri Lankan commercial banks was conducted offshore by another commercial bank in Sri Lanka.

The event was graced by Dr. J. Sadakkadulla, the Regional Director (Tamilnadu and Puducherry) of RBI, V.G. Venkatachalapathy, the General Manager (Banking Department) of RBI, K. Vijayakumar, ACU Officer-in-Charge and Deputy General Manager (Department of External Investments and Operations) of RBI, G.H. Wickramasinghe, the Assistant General Manager (Overseas Branches) of Bank of Ceylon, M.H.S. Mala, the Assistant General Manager (Trade Services) of Bank of Ceylon, W.N.P. Surawimala, the Chief Executive Officer of Bank of Ceylon, Chennai Branch, Kumudhini J. Yogarathnam, Deputy Manager and R.P.D.R. Ruwanpathirana, Head of Treasury, Bank of Ceylon Chennai.

All participants commended this forum as a grand opportunity for them to meet the top officials of RBI and exchange their views on trade finance activities in the region thus eliminating issues experienced previously in ACU operations. Eventually, the new knowledge and insight gained by the participant banks will pave the way to boost the business volume of trade finance in Asian region.