Former governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Ajith Nivard Cabraal noted that measures will be taken to reform the Credit Information Bureau (CRIB) and to offer an 18-month debt moratorium in order to help businesses.

“We will reform the CRIB. We will bring up some restructuring systems so that people who have shown good results in the past but who had difficulties in repaying their loan as a result of the current downturn in the economy are given protection. They will be given some leeway to resume business,” Cabraal said whilst addressing a forum on Friday (25) supporting SLPP’s presidential candidate .

Adding to that Cabraal noted that they will be given an 18-month moratorium.

“We want to give a moratorium as far as loans are concerned, not to not pay the loan. Please do not get me wrong. You’ve got to pay your loan back.”

“But what we will do is  freeze your loans so that you will only pay interest and banks will not get into trouble and you will get some relief so that some capital will remain with you,”he said.  

Cabraal noted that they will make sure interest rates come down as in the current level people can’t do business.  

“In 2014, the Average Weighted Prime Lending Rate (AWPLR) was 6.2%.  Today it is 12%.”

“You can see the entire structure has now changed. We need to pull that back. So interest rates have to be reduced. We have to work through that carefully,” Cabraal added.