News
Trade Finance Association of Bankers holds AGM for year 2021/2022
The Trade Finance Association of Bankers (TFAB) held its 24th Annual General Meeting in April, at the Rainbow Room, Grand Oriental Hotel, Colombo following strict health guidelines owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Trade Finance Association of Bankers which was formed in 1997, has been actively engaged in imparting knowledge and the required skills to its members who are Trade Practitioners by conducting seminars, lectures, discussions, workshops, trade educational tours and other activities on a wide range of topics relating to International Trade with the assistance of senior bankers who have mastered the subject in our local banks and other resource persons from various trade-related stakeholders. The Premium event of TFAB is Interbank Trade Finance Quiz and Social which promotes Trade Knowledge and Networking among its members.
TFAB provides an environment for Trade Practitioners representing all banks, to facilitate the exchange of views relating to trade, promote consistency in Trade Finance practices and to create the required skill set in the industry in supporting Trade. The membership comprises almost all commercial banks operating in Sri Lanka. The office-bearers of the Association from various banks are elected every year at its AGM. It is really fortunate to see some experienced and knowledgeable prominent veterans in the field of Trade Finance willingly sharing their knowledge and experience with new trade practitioners in all banks. The Association is backed by an Advisory Committee comprising of four senior bankers and past TFAB Presidents A. Kathiravelupillai (Inaugural President of TFAB and Former DGM –International of Bank of Ceylon), Michael Peiris (Former Head of Trade of Union Bank of Colombo PLC), Nilam Jumat (Former AGM – International of Hatton National Bank PLC), and Thushy David (Former Director, Head Global Subsidiary Coverage, Head of Trade and Cash Management Sales of Deutsche Bank), with extensive experience in the International Banking business.
Incumbent President Lawrian Somanader – Chief Manager – Heads the Exports at Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC was unanimously elected as the President of the Association. He holds a Master of Business Administration from UK. He possesses the ICC’s advanced Trade Finance qualification – Certified Trade Finance Professional (CTFP). He is also a member of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka. He counts over 30 years of banking experience that includes 27 years in International Trade-related services Imports, Exports at Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC. He also had the opportunity of working at the Corporate Credit banking division and having served in a Branch during his banking career. Mr. Somanader had held many responsible positions in the Trade Finance Association of Bankers such as the Senior Vice President and the Treasurer..
The following members were elected as office-bearers of the Trade Finance Association of Bankers for the year 2021/2022 during the Annual General Meeting.
President – Lawrian Somanader – Chief Manager, Exports, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC
Senior Vice President – Rochelle Fernando – Assistant General Manager – Trade Services – Bank of Ceylon
Vice President- Shyam De Silva – Manager Operations – Centralized Trade Processing, Hatton National Bank PLC
Secretary General – K.R. Naguleswaran – Assistant Vice President, Correspondent Banking and Remittances, DFCC Bank PLC
Treasurer – Kasun Muthukuda – Manager – Trade and Supply Chain Finance, Nations Trust Bank PLC
Assistant Secretary – Indika Liyanage – Senior Manager, Trade Services, Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC
Assistant Treasurer- Kanchana De Silva – Senior Manager – Trade Operations – Union Bank of Colombo PLC,
Council Members: Gaya Manamperi (Formerly at Sampath Bank PLC), Manjula Gunawardana(NDB Bank PLC), Neil Handapangoda (Citi Bank N.A.), Susantha Weerasinghe (People’s Bank), Tharinda Amarasinghe (Sampath Bank PLC), Niranjan Dabare (Deutsche Bank AG), K K Susantha (Bank of Ceylon), Saroja Pathirana (Sampath Bank PLC), Thilanke Weerasinghe (The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited), Dilan Wijegoonawardena (Seylan Bank PLC),Shehani Peter (Standard Chartered Bank), Malithi Maheeka (Cargills Bank), Eranda Weerakoon (Doha Bank)
Immediate Past President: A. S. M. W. Kumarasiri (Assistant General Manager, Trade Finance, People’s Bank)
The newly appointed President delivering his address pointed out the role played by the TFAB to the banking industry during its last 24 years of existence. He further stated that the knowledge imparted by TFAB by way of trade seminars, workshops, quiz competitions, trainings and knowledge forums to its membership was commendable. He also emphasised the importance of the TFAB newsletter as a knowledge sharing source and requested the membership to contribute more articles in order to enhance the number of publications.
He also spoke about such challenges with resilience that the world is going through since 2020 and how the banking industry is taking up that challenge in line with changing regulatory requirements.
Finally, he thanked the previous presidents for their leadership and thanked the membership for electing him to steer the association to greater heights and pledged his commitment towards the betterment of TFAB.
The Secretary General, in his address thanked the membership for the election of the present office-bearers and the council who will steer the objectives of the TFAB in 2021 /2022.
The Parliamentary watchdog Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has found that there were fake documents regarding the importing of medicines under the emergency procurement system in 2022 and 2023.
This was revealed during a COPE meeting held at Parliament probing the transactions of the National Medicine Regulatory Authority (NMRA).
NMRA CEO Saveen Semage told the committee that several fake documents have been found due to the lack of registration of medicines.
Stating that six such fake documents were found last year alone, Semage said he had recorded statements regarding each of the documents with the Financial Crimes Investigation Division.
He revealed that, however, no investigations have been conducted yet into the incidents.
“We have documents with confessions from a woman accepting that fake documents had been made. However, a statement has not even been recorded from that woman yet,” he said.
Meanwhile, COPE member MP Asitha Niroshana Egoda Vithana also revealed that the highest number of waive-off registrations (WOR) for medicines had been obtained in 2022 and 2023.
He said 656 such WORs had been obtained in 2022 and 261 in 2023, adding that this proves that discrepancies have taken place during the emergency procurement of medicines during these periods.
Furthermore, Deputy Director General of the Medical Supplies Division of the Health Ministry, Dr. G. Wijesuriya said discussions are underway on allowing the State Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC) to directly import essential medicines.He pointed out that it was essential to take a policy decision in this regard as a solution to mitigate such discrepancies.
The Batalanda Commission report was tabled in Parliament on Friday by the Leader of the House and Transport Minister, Bimal Ratnayake.
Minister Ratnayake announced that the government has decided to forward the report to the Attorney General for legal advice. Additionally, a Presidential Committee will be appointed to provide guidance and recommendations on how to proceed with the findings of the report.
Ratnayake said that the Cabinet of Ministers, along with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has made a policy decision to take necessary action in response to the report. He reassured the public that steps are being taken to ensure that such a dark chapter in the country’s history is never repeated.
Minister Ratnayake said that a two-day debate on the Batalanda Commission report will be scheduled in Parliament at an appropriate time, allowing for a detailed discussion on the report’s findings and recommendations.
The report, which will be printed in all three official languages—Sinhala, Tamil, and English—will be made available to the public in the near future. Ratnayake confirmed that printed copies would be provided to members of Parliament as well as the general public for their review.
The Leader of the House further revealed that there are 28 evidence volumes associated with the commission’s work, which will be submitted to Parliament at a later date for further scrutiny.
Ratnayake said that as entire country concerned of the Batalanda Commission’s findings, the government’s commitment to addressing the issues raised and preventing future atrocities stands clear. The next steps, including legal action and policy recommendations, will be shaped by expert advice and informed parliamentary discussions, he said.
Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe on Friday (14) emphasized the importance of promoting a sustainable and cost-effective construction industry in the country, highlighting key challenges and opportunities in the sector.
Speaking at ‘Construction Expo 2025’, Dr. Weerasinghe underscored the need for Sri Lanka to align with global trends in sustainable construction, integrating cost-effective energy solutions and eco-friendly building practices.
“I must say my views here are not necessarily as Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, but as a person looking at this construction industry and how this can be developed and what the issues are. Sustainability in construction is essential, not just for new projects but also for existing buildings,” he noted.
Dr. Weerasinghe acknowledged that the construction sector has been one of the hardest-hit industries due to multiple economic pressures in recent years including the decline in public investments, high material costs and the industry being dependent on government projects.
The CBSL Governor, who acknowledged that the government faced fiscal constraints, limiting infrastructure spending and delaying payments to contractors, said that however, the outstanding arrears had now been settled.
“Government did not have space to spend money for public investment, especially construction that had a significant impact on the industry in the last couple of years, plus the government inability to pay the arrears for a long period. That was an issue we all recognize that has been one of the adverse impacts the industry had in the past”, he expressed.
“Also the cost of materials went up significantly, partly because of foreign exchange shortages. As a result, the shortage had shot up the prices of construction materials, as well as depreciation of the currency, high interest rates, finance costs, and other factors. We all recognize that it had an adverse impact on the industry. It’s one of the worst affected industries because of all these factors.”
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