The Hon. (Dr.) Harshana Suriyapperuma
Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma stated that while the figures cited relate to past years, interest rates in 2025 have been gradually declining and state banks will reflect this in lending. He said commercial lending rates depend on borrower risk profiles, but Government concessionary schemes such as Odapana and SME loans provide credit at around 7 per cent through state banks. He acknowledged the need for affordable SME credit to revive the economy and said the Government has already taken measures in that direction.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Thank you for the question. The data presented are historical, i.e. for past years. You are now referring to the current period. We are in 2025. Under current conditions we see rates have gradually declined. State banks will reflect that in lending. Commercially, pricing depends on the borrower’s risk profile. However, Government schemes are in place: concessionary schemes such as Odapana and SME loans allow borrowing at around 7% via the state banking system.
¶ 02 Your point is fair: to revive the economy, SMEs must access affordable credit. The present Government has already implemented measures towards that.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Wednesday, 5 February 2025 ·No. 1739175806099814 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Dr.) Harshana Suriyapperuma. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 5 February 2025. No. 1739175806099814. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/26775