Central Bank holds the line as economy rebounds to $109 bn
The Central Bank (CB) continues to follow its established market framework, letting supply and demand settle the currency value while stepping in only to smooth out volatile short-term spikes, CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe assured.
The overall size of Sri Lanka’s economy has structurally expanded in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), climbing back up to approximately US$109 billion.
The benefits of the recovery phase have not been evenly distributed. Income growth varies heavily across different social segments, meaning some households continue to struggle to catch up.
While the broad economy expands and the cost of living has remained relatively stable over the last three years, individual purchasing power improvements take a longer time to align with household expenditure, he added.
During the May 13, 2026 presentation of the ‘Annual Economic Review’, he noted that easing localised borrowing conditions and an expansion of private sector credit lines are acting as secondary catalysts to steady the domestic market.
Following temporary deflationary environments, inflation is forecasted to incrementally climb and converge exactly with the 5 per cent target by the second half of 2026.
The bank remains highly vigilant against volatile supply-chain disruptions caused by local crop loss and international energy price shocks stemming from the West Asian conflict and an upgraded domestic GDP expansion forecast of 4 to 5 per cent this year.
It will continue dollar buybacks from local interbank markets to accumulate state reserves while dampening speculative import demand spikes, he disclosed.
He addressed the views and criticisms regarding the $2.5 million Treasury cyber heist and the Rs. 13.2 billion National Development Bank (NDB) internal fraud.
The Governor stated that the CB acts strictly as an execution agency when processing state payments.
It does not possess the legal right or authority to manually modify, delay, or double-check the legitimacy of payment instructions once the account numbers and technical fields match system verification criteria.
He argued that despite the fallout, neither fraud incident poses a threat to the stability of Sri Lanka’s aggregate financial system.
Dr. Weerasinghe explicitly stated that no customer accounts or depositor funds were compromised in the NDB internal fraud of Rs.13.2 billion.
He admitted the incident exposed clear “weaknesses in internal processes” pointing out that CB will demand structural corrections from NDB once internal forensic reviews conclude.
The Governor revealed that immediately following the disclosure of the NDB scandal, the CB ordered all other banks to review their operations. They were tasked with verifying if similar internal siphoning or accounting bypasses were occurring undetected.
He confirmed that following these industry-wide system checks, no other bank reported any similar internal fraud.
Hitad.lk has you covered with quality used or brand new cars for sale that are budget friendly yet reliable! Now is the time to sell your old ride for something more attractive to today's modern automotive market demands. Browse through our selection of affordable options now on Hitad.lk before deciding on what will work best for you!