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CBSL crisis ends: Indrajit Coomaraswamy new Governor
View(s):Renowned economist Indrajit Coomaraswamy was yesterday appointed as the new Governor of the Central Bank, ending a 24-hour deadlock on the appointment. The President’s Office Media Spokesperson Dharmasiri Ekanayake said the new Governor would assume duties tomorrow.
Financial experts said that among his immediate priorities would be to restore confidence in an institution which went through a tumultuous period under Arjuna Mahendran’s 17-month reign as Governor. The new 66-year old Governor is a widely respected economist, starting his career at the Central Bank, moving to the Ministry of Finance and ending as Director of Economic Affairs at the London-based Commonwealth Secretariat.
New CB Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy being congratulated by President Maithripala Sirisena after his appointment.
Mr. Coomaraswamy excelled in sports as well, paying rugby and cricket. He played for CR and FC and went on to represent Sri Lanka. Under his captaincy, Sri Lanka emerged runners up in the 1974 Rugby Asiad in Japan.
Mr. Mahendran’s departure led to a tug of war between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe over the appointment. The President’s nominee was Deputy Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe while the Prime Minister was pushing for former Treasury Secretary Charitha Ratwatte as a stop-gap appointment in case Mr. Mahendran was cleared in a parliamentary probe on tainted bond issues and eligible for a second term.
The former Governor has been embroiled in controversy from the month (February 2015) he took over when a bond issue that month drew allegations that Perpetual Treasuries, a firm owned by the family of Mahendran’s son in law, Arjun Aloysius, secured undue advantage in that deal.
Anticipating the ‘headless CB’ situation to continue tomorrow, CB officials earlier said they had sought the advice of the Attorney General on ‘what to do’ when markets open. “Yes, we are facing a critical situation as intervention in the money markets and permission to conduct Treasury bill and bond auctions are only authorized by the Governor,” Nandalal Weerasinghe, Central Bank Deputy Governor told the Sunday Times (just before Dr. Coomarswamy’s appointment was announced). He said, “We have sought the AG’s advice on these matters and what to do”.