The Treasury has suspended borrowing from the two state banks, the Bank of Ceylon and the People’s Bank, to cover government expenditure.
Finance State Minister Dr. Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said that this situation was achieved through increasing government revenue and managing government expenses well.
Minister Siyambalapitiya also stated that this was achieved by the Treasury in 2023, despite challenging circumstances.
The State Minister further said that it marks a unique achievement in Sri Lanka’s economic history.
Decades ago, Sri Lanka was in an era when the overdraft of the Treasury in the Bank of Ceylon and the People’s Bank was at a negative status.
These situations were caused by the fact that the government did not receive enough income to cover its expenses including the payment of public employee salaries and pensions, so they took loans from the two banks and made the payments.
The State Minister pointed out that the Treasury has now been able to fully pay off the overdraft of the Treasury, which exceeded Rs.900 billion in 2021.
He also mentioned that with the government stopping taking loans from the two state banks to cover its expenses, the two state banks will be left with a large amount of money.
With the increase of the funds owned by the banks, opportunities also arise for the two banks to provide funds to improve their existing businesses, start new business industries and improve services for their customers.
Jayasiri Munasinghe
