Rs. 50 b capital will reflect strength: CB Chief

Monday, 25 November 2013 00:44 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Kinita Shenoy Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal on Friday said the expansion of the monetary authority’s capital to Rs. 50 billion will better reflect strength and stability.

“The current share capital of the Central Bank is only Rs. 15 million, which was capital introduced in 1950 during a structural shift in monetary policy. We don’t have capital that has been contributed to show overall strength. This will now be raised to Rs. 50 billion, which shows an extent of stability and strength to external or foreign parties,” Cabraal said during his presentation at the KPMG post-Budget forum. President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s 2014 Budget last week said the capital of the Central Bank will be increased to Rs. 50 billion. He said the performance of the Central Bank in managing external reserves, various funds, the money supply and the supervision of banking and financial institutions in recent years, has be exemplary. Considering the Central Bank’s responsibilities and the recent trends in the economy, the increase in capital to Rs. 50 billion was proposed.