Hon. Kabir Hashim

¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member.

¶ 02 I raise this question to the Hon. Minister of Finance regarding the charging of penal interest by finance companies during the loan relief moratorium period. Despite Central Bank Circular No. 9 of 2021, there are continuous reports that, in violation of the law, penal interest and fees are being charged during the COVID-19 loan moratorium period. One such specific issue is the complaint submitted to the Central Bank by Mr. Aslam Marikkar of Kandy (Complaint No: 2021/NOV/0052).

¶ 03 Even though this is a clear instance where finance companies acted without adhering to the Central Bank circular and engaged in financial malpractice, there may be many more such instances.

¶ 04 Due to the lack of active and effective action by the Central Bank’s Financial Consumer Relations Department (FCRD) on this matter, I, through Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, submitted a complaint to the Committee on Public Finance, and it was taken up on 5th June 2025. Nevertheless, it appears that the Central Bank’s Financial Consumer Relations Department has not taken adequate action on these complaints. The complainant, Mr. Aslam Marikkar, has also complained to the Presidential Secretariat. I must thank the President and the Presidential Secretariat for immediately writing to the Governor of the Central Bank to take action and conduct a formal inquiry without delay. I will arrange for a copy of that letter from the Presidential Secretariat to be made available to the Hon. Minister.

¶ 05 According to reports, what often happens is that finance companies (registered) falsely claim that there were arrears prior to the moratorium period and continuously instruct consumers to pay unauthorized charges.

¶ 06 Hon. Presiding Member, I will also provide two documents to the Hon. Minister: the complainant’s complaint and the letter sent to the Committee on Public Finance.

¶ 07 Accordingly, I seek answers from the Hon. Minister to the following:

¶ 08 1. With regard to the above complaint, will the Central Bank’s Financial Consumer Relations Department conduct a formal inquiry and act to grant relief to the complainant? What is the progress of action taken so far?

¶ 09 2. Will this complaint be referred to the Committee on Public Finance and will oversight be exercised on the progress of the inquiry to ensure justice to the complainant?

¶ 10 3. As this amounts to financial exploitation of ordinary consumers, clients and the general public, what measures can be taken to prevent it?

¶ 11 4. What steps will be taken to expedite such measures?

¶ 12 Thank you.