The Monetary Board, with the concurrence of the Hon. Minister of Finance, has promoted Assistant Governor, Mr. K D Ranasinghe to the post of Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) with effect from 30th April 2017. 

Mr. K D Ranasinghe has nearly 31 years of experience in the Central Bank especially in the areas of Economic and Price Stability, and other Agency Functions carried out by the Central Bank. Prior to the appointment as a Deputy Governor, Mr. Ranasinghe held the position of the Assistant Governor in-charge of Statistics, International Operations, Domestic Operations, Employees' Provident Fund, Human Resources and Facilities Management Departments. Mr. Ranasinghe served as the Director of Economic Research Department of the Central Bank before he was promoted as an Assistant Governor. Mr. Ranasinghe served as an Alternate Executive Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Washington D.C., USA during the period from August 2012 to April 2015.

Sri Lanka’s external sector remained subdued with a widening of the trade deficit, a moderation in tourist earnings and a modest growth in workers’ remittances in February 2017. A considerable widening in the trade deficit was observed in February with a decline in exports amidst increased imports mainly due to higher imports of fuel and rice. Earnings from tourism dipped with a marginal decline in tourist arrivals during the month, which could partly be attributed to the day time closure of the Bandaranayke International Airport (BIA) for resurfacing of the runway. The growth in workers’ remittances in February remained below the expected level. Further, the financial account was adversely affected by significant outflows from the government securities market during the month. However, some foreign investments were observed in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) with inflows to both primary and secondary markets during the month.