- MoF awaits final clearance from AG’s Dept.
Plans are in place to fast-track the drafting of the Credit Regulatory Authority Bill aimed at regulating money lending and microfinance businesses in order to present it to Parliament by May 2023, the Ministry of Finance reveals.
Due to the predatory practices of many microfinance institutions in Sri Lanka, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) revealed plans to establish a Credit Regulatory Authority back in July 2019.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, an officer from the Department of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Finance revealed that the Credit Regulatory Authority Bill was at the final stage of its drafting process and that it was currently before the Attorney General’s Department pending final approval.
Elaborating further, she stated: “We had previously received clearance from the Attorney General’s Department. However, they had certain observations which needed to be addressed. We have already sent our answers to their observations. Now we are waiting for the final certificate from the Attorney General’s Department. Once we receive that, the final draft bill will be prepared by the Legal Draftsman.”
She further stated that the approval process had been delayed because much of the focus had been on the new Central Bank Bill which had been challenged before the Supreme Court.
“Since all issues relating to the new Central Bank Bill have been settled, the priority from now on will be to complete the drafting process of the Credit Regulatory Authority Bill. We will receive the final approval from the Attorney General’s Department by the end of this month and we should be able to gazette it by the beginning of next month, following which it will be taken up in Parliament,” she stated.
She further revealed that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had expressed its approval of the Government’s attempt to regulate the microfinance industry through the establishment of a Credit Regulatory Authority under this bill. Therefore, she stressed that the Government was committed to enacting this bill as soon as possible.