• Claims 10 persons backed by politicians hold non-performing loans of BOC and PB
• Says Rs. 80 Bn in NPLS need collecting

Ceylon Bank Employees’ Union (CBEU) claimed that the Non-performing loans (NPLs) of 10 individuals and companies backed by politicians have been the major cause for the losses experienced by major State-owned banks such as Bank of Ceylon (BOC) and People’s Bank.

Speaking at a rally held on Saturday (02), the CBEU General Secretary Ranjan Senanayake charged that the politicians, who blame the administration and the workers in those banks for the losses sustained, must disclose the names of the individuals and the companies who have NPLS. He also said that a total of NPLs around Rs.80 billion should be collected from those who have not made the repayments properly.

The CBEU General Secretary also stressed that they will not let the Government privatise any state-owned bank and they will take trade union action if any such motion is being tabled to the Parliament or the Cabinet of Ministers.

“The State-owned banks owed a total of Rs.80 billion from various individuals and companies backed by the politicians and the Government. 10 people who have connections with the Government have been mainly identified with a considerable amount of NPLs. Therefore we challenge the politicians who blamed us for the losses to disclose the names of those 10 individuals and companies,” he said. Senanayake also noted that the BOC owed Rs.50 billion while the People’s Bank owed Rs.30 billion from those individuals and companies.

Earlier this year, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said that the Sri Lankan financial sector's NPL ratio out of total loans reached 11.3% by the end of 2022 from 7.6% in 2021 due to higher growth in Stage 3 loans and lower growth in credit.

According to the annual report of 2022, CBSL states that NPLs, as indicated by Stage 3 loans (including undrawn amounts), increased by Rs. 447.3 billion during 2022, recording a growth of 53.6% reaching Rs. 1.3 trillion at the end of 2022, compared to an increase of Rs. 20.1 billion in 2021. “NPL Ratio as indicated by Stage 3 Loans to Total Loans (including undrawn amounts) Ratio increased from 7.6% as at end 2021 to 11.3% by end 2022, induced by higher growth in Stage 3 loans and lower growth in credit,” the CBSL annual report said.