Not in the running for SEC Chairman’s post again, says Ranel

Former SEC Chairman, Senior Chartered Accountant Ranel Wijesinha, while wishing the country and the Government the very best, states that he will not be accepting any positions at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or Bank of Ceylon (BOC), at this juncture. 

In response to an inquiry made by us, Wijesinha issued the following statement with suggestions for the Government. 

“I have been contacted by many colleagues, as well as the media, about being nominated to certain public sector positions. I will not be accepting any positions at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)or Bank of Ceylon (BOC), at this juncture. 

“I believe I have made my contribution to the public sector, on several occasions over a 30-year period and regard it essential, that the country identifies younger, newer people and good teams, to function in key positions.

SEC

“As for the SEC, I have served thrice, first in an ex-officio position in my capacity then as President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, subsequently as a Commissioner from 2015-2018 and finally as Chairman from June 2018-November 2019.

The new SEC Act and restrictions

“When we finalised the new SEC Act, during my term as Chairman, among several other progressive steps, we restricted the number of terms a person can serve as a Commissioner. We must strive to maintain this progressive measure.  There are many who have the capacity and capability to serve in these positions and must be given the opportunity.

Women nominees

“I hope the President/ Finance Minister, appoints at least two women professionals since, when I was invited to serve as Chairman in 2018, I recommended five key persons as Commissioners, as a condition of my acceptance. One of the five was a senior woman professional.  However, while 90% of the men I recommended were appointed, my nomination of the woman professional, did not happen. 

Gender equality and Mandatory provisions

“I also hope the SEC restores our gender equality initiatives for listed companies, which we developed pursuant to research of similar provisions in comparable jurisdictions. I had 100% approval from my then Commissioners, and the Ministry of Finance had it incorporated in the Budget which was presented by then Finance Minister Late Mangala Samaraweera, and passed in Parliament. Regrettably this initiative has not been operationalised to date.

Bank of Ceylon Ordinance

“The Bank of Ceylon Ordinance, must also be amended to increase the number of Board positions from the present, shockingly inadequate, six persons. I mooted this idea in the first few months of the 2015 Government, when I was burdened with several initiatives requiring my attention as Audit Committee Chairman, at a time, the Board had only four directors. 

“Only when the Government changed in August 2015, six months later that the “full Board of six” was appointed. I recall repeating my recommendations, having got a task force to perform a comparative analysis of all banks in the country, Board positions, committees etc. 

“We had it minuted at a Board Meeting, to be escalated to the then Finance Minister and the then Prime Minister. Regrettably it was pulled back. There was inadequate commitment from many quarters to amend the Ordinance.

Twice the Asset Base, but Half a Board! 

“I then spoke to the CBSL, and successive Governors about this, stating that BOC’s Balance Sheet was many times bigger than certain conglomerates and that it was larger than several private listed banks put together each of which had twice the number of Board Directors or more to Chair Committees and perform the compellingly necessary different functions of Board Room Governance. The CBSL and External Auditors picked these up off our minutes and it may be lying dormant in some regulatory supervision report or management letter.

Delays in appointments have multiple implications

“There have been many instances in the past under all regimes, when delays in appointments to these key institutions, simply stalled the statutory, regulatory work that has to be done requiring Commission approval, even while a duly appointed Director General was in office. 

“In much the same manner, the work of the Bank of Ceylon is constrained if appointments that otherwise make a full Board are not made. For example, the General Manager and the Credit Committee, as provided by the Ordinance, are unable to consider and disburse a credit facility, which exceeds the approval limits of the General Manager. 

Fit and Proper

“Of course, at the same time, if appointments of qualified, eligible, experienced, committed, fit and proper persons are not made to these institutions, governments and ministries will take away from, and sometimes even misdirect and constrain, rather than strengthen and sustain, the operational functions and execution of an otherwise good, executive or general management. 

Immediate attention is necessary 

“While wishing the country, the Government and these institutions, the very best, may I submit that all of the above are areas, that require the immediate attention of the Government, the Office of President, the Finance Minister, the Monetary Board and the Bank Supervision Department of the Central Bank, the office of the Auditor General and the President’s advisors on Banking, Finance and Capital Markets.”