10th Parliament· 154 sittings on record · 30,475 speeches · latest 10 June 2026

The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC

Samagi Jana Balawegaya· National List· 9 September 2025 ·Adjournment: Adjournment Debate: Tourism Promotion and Finance Company Interest Charges

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M. Nizam Kariapper asked the Minister to clarify whether banks, particularly state banks such as the Bank of Ceylon, have discretion to refuse the borrower relief referred to in the Central Bank media release of 20 December 2024. He said certain wording in the release is being used to deny consumers the 35% interest relief when they seek to settle loans, and requested the Government’s policy position on whether such refusals are permitted.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Hon. Minister, on 20.12.2024 the Central Bank issued a media release. Because of certain wording therein regarding relief granted to borrowers, banks — especially the Bank of Ceylon — interpret that, at their discretion, they can reject granting such relief. When consumers seek to finalize their loans by obtaining the 35% interest relief mentioned, state banks or institutions rely on this wording to withhold the relief. Do they, as a matter of policy, have such a right to refuse granting the relief specified in the Central Bank’s media release? I respectfully ask for your clarification.

Provenance

Source
Hansard, Tuesday, 9 September 2025 ·No. 1757672711095734 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 9 September 2025. No. 1757672711095734. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/9796