CB improves transparency with common trading platform

In an effort to improve transparency in the Government securities market the Central Bank has ensured that commercial banks and primary dealers conduct transactions on one trading platform, which updates deals within half an hour.  

As the second stage, commercial banks joined the Bloomberg electronic bond trading platform for government securities secondary market transactions with effect from 15 September. Prior to this, all primary dealers joined the platform on 1 August 2016. 

Therefore, now all primary dealers and banks undertake trades among them in the platform and report all over-the-counter outright deals with investors of Rs. 50 million and above within 30 minutes. The Central Bank releases basic trade information on yields and volumes by each security traded to its website next day. During 32 market days from 1 August 2016 to 15 September 2016, a number of 1,816 outright transactions amounting to Rs. 218.7 billion took place in trade of the majority of securities in issue. 

In due course, the Central Bank will release such market information twice a day, at noon and close of the day. 

Accordingly, all stakeholders have now begun to yield the benefits arising from the transparency, price discovery and liquidity created through this trading platform in the market. The Central Bank is grateful to all those stakeholders who supported this significant milestone in further development of Government securities market in Sri Lanka. As the next stage, the Central Bank is now considering introducing the repurchase/reverse repurchase transactions to this electronic bond trading platform.