Why ex-regulators should stay away from private. banks: Who is who and why

Wednesday, 16 July 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

I refer to Priyantha’s letter of Monday, where he has mentioned that some of the Governor’s relations have been appointed to bank boards. As a person who knows the Cabraal family well, and also as a person who has been serving in the banking sector for many years, I wish to bring the following facts to the notice of Priyantha and your readers. Mr. Amal Cabraal (first cousin of Governor) who is in the Board of HNB was the previous Chairman of Unilever Ltd., and after his retirement, not only has he been appointed to HNB, he has also been appointed to John Keells Holdings and Carsons, two of the biggest companies in Sri Lanka. Mr. Ravi Thambiayah (brother-in- law of Governor) who is in the Board of DFCC is one of the most successful businessmen in the country, and his companies have a large share portfolio, including nearly 10% of DFCC. Mrs. Siromi Wickremasinghe (sister of Governor) who is the Chairperson of HDFC Bank has had an illustrious and exemplary career at HNB and she retired from HNB as a Deputy General Manager. After her retirement, she has been serving on several boards of many companies and is held in high esteem in the private sector. Mr. Nihal Fonseka (first cousin of Governor) who is the CEO of DFCC, had a very illustrious career at the HSBC and has been the CEO of DFCC for over 10 years, and is a very respected banker. He also serves on the Board of John Keells Holdings. Ms. Shibani Thambiayah (niece of Governor) who is a Director of DFCC Vardana is a Masters Graduate from a top university in the US and is also the Managing Director of the Renuka Hotels Group. She is an outstanding executive while the Renuka Hotels Group owns nearly 10% of the shares of the DFCC. Mr. Sunil Wijesinha (brother-in-law of Governor) who is the Chairman of NDB Bank, was the Chairman of Dankotuwa Porcelain and the ETF, and has been recognised as an authority on management. He also currently serves as the Chairman of United Motors. The entire country knows that the above six persons are eminently suitable in their own right, and have been appointed to these positions in the respective banks, by the shareholders of the banks because of their ability. It is therefore very unfair for Priyantha to suggest that they are holding those positions because of their relationship to the Governor. In addition, the entire banking sector recognises Dr. Ranee Jayamaha of HNB and Mr. Dharma Dheerasinghe of Commercial Bank as outstanding personalities who have impeccable track records. The two of them have also rendered yeoman service to the country through dedicated services overseas as well. Dr. Jayamaha has served at a very high level at the Commonwealth Secretariat, and Mr. Dheerasinghe has functioned as an Alternate Director of the IMF. With such outstanding credentials, it is very sad that people like Priyantha are attempting to tarnish their names as well the names of many outstanding people, purely because they have some relationship with Governor Cabraal. In this letter, Priyantha also laments about the EPF having incurred a ‘loss’ of over Rs. 12 billion in 2011. However, he has conveniently forgotten to mention that what the EPF actually suffered in December 2011 was an ‘unrealised loss’, which has now turned into an unrealised profit of over more than Rs. 2.5 billion, as per stock market sources. With all that, I am glad that Priyantha has had to admit, probably very grudgingly, that Governor Cabraal and Secretary to the Treasury Jayasundera have done a lot of good for the economy and the country in general. Perhaps, now that he knows how qualified and suitable Mr. Cabraal’s family members are to hold office, he may, in due course, also change his mind about their suitability. Augustine Silva Retired Banker