Increased interest for Special Deposit Accounts as CB seeks more dollars

The Central Bank on Thursday said announced an additional interest of 2 percent to Special Deposit Accounts (SDAs) encouraging its holders to roll over these deposits for a further 24 months, in another move to secure much-needed foreign exchange.

“…to attract a substantial amount of foreign exchange into the country and the resultant positive impact on the foreign currency reserve position of the country and the overall economy, the Minister of Finance with the recommendation of the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CB) has decided to grant permission to rollover SDAs up to an accumulated period of 24 months from the initial date of placing such deposits. SDAs so rolled over will be eligible for additional interest up to 2% per annum offered by the Government,” the Bank said in a statement.

The Government of Sri Lanka introduced the SDAs on 08 April 2020 to seek assistance for the national effort to overcome the effects of COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Accordingly, as at 02 July 2021, total deposits received into SDAs amounted to approximately US$458 million.