Nihal Fonseka joins the ranks of the global financial elite

From left: Adrian Taylor Chartered FCSI(Hon), Partner Investment Management – Charities, Smith & Williamson, Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli FCCA, Chartered FCSI(Hon), FBCS, co-founder Z/Yen, Michael Cole-Fontayn MCSI Chairman CISI, Richard Wastcoat FCSI(Hon), Non-Executive Director First State Investments and Nihal Fonseka Chartered FCSI(Hon), Member of the Monetary Board of Central Bank of Sri Lanka

Nihal Fonseka (right) receiving his Honorary Fellowship from CISI Chairman Michael Cole-Fontayn MCSI

Nihal Fonseka, President of CISI Sri Lanka’s National Advisory Council (NAC), has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship by global financial services professional body the CISI.

Honorary Fellowships are awarded by the CISI (Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment) Board of Trustees to those who have made a significant positive contribution, both to the financial services profession and to the CISI.  Honorary Fellowship carries the designatory letters FCSI(Hon).  

Nihal was one of six eminent recipients this year who received the CISI Honorary Fellowship. They are: Nihal Fonseka FCSI(Hon), Member of the Monetary Board of Central Bank of Sri Lanka; John McFarlane CBE FCSI(Hon), Group Chairman, Barclays; Richard Wastcoat FCSI(Hon), Non-Executive Director, First State Investments; Adrian Taylor, Chartered FCSI(Hon), Partner, Investment Management – Charities, Smith & Williamson; Dame Colette Bowe FCSI(Hon), Chairman, Banking Standards Board; Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli FCCA, Chartered FCSI(Hon), FBCS, co-founder Z/Yen.

CISI Chairman Michael Cole-Fontayn MCSI said: “We are delighted to award an Honorary Fellowship, our highest accolade, to Nihal Fonseka in recognition of his outstanding contribution, both to the CISI and the financial services profession particularly in Sri Lanka, over many years. We very much look forward to his continued support and guidance.” Nihal is the founding President of the CISI’s NAC in Sri Lanka, taking up his voluntary post in 2011. Well-connected and influential in the local financial services sector, he has been instrumental in establishing an eminent NAC composed of senior practitioners in CISI’s core markets. His rich network and deep understanding of the local arena has created many opportunities for CISI Sri Lanka, nurturing development and upholding standards within the financial services profession.

Nihal is an experienced banker who has held several key positions in the local and international banking sectors and was appointed as a member of the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) in July 2016.  

Prior to his appointment at CBSL, he was the Chief Executive Officer of the DFCC Bank, Sri Lanka, for 13 years and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Sri Lanka for 10 years.  He has also served as Chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange and the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and Pacific, Manila and as a Director of Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, and DFCC Vardhana Bank PLC. Nihal was a member of the 2009 Presidential Commission on Taxation and until recently was a Member of the National Procurement Commission established under the Constitution.  

He is also a Director and Chairman of the Group Audit Committee of John Keels Holdings PLC and is a former member of the US-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission.