SEC registers Lanka Rating Agency

Friday, 9 July 2021 01:44 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Chairman Anil Amarasuriya

Jayantha Perera

Priyantha Liyanage

Dr. Kenneth De Zilwa

Niranjan Mendis

Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka registers Lanka Rating Agency (LRA) as a Domestic Credit Rating Agency.

LRA’s key shareholders are Hatton National Bank PLC, Commercial Bank PLC, National Development Bank PLC, Sampath Bank PLC, Capital Alliance PLC, Econsult Asia Ltd., Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA), ICON Investment Ltd., and high net worth individuals Niranjan Mendis, Keerthi Mihipanna, A. K. Jayathilaka and G. D. R. Fonseka.

LRA’s technical partner is PACRA, which has over 25 years of domestic credit rating experience and is the first credit rating agency established in Pakistan.

With the registration of LRA a new Board of Directors was appointed for robust governance. Chairman is Anil Amarasuriya, former MD/CEO of Sampath Bank, Union Bank and most recently Chairman of LankaClear. Other Directors are Priyantha Liyanage, Jayanth Perera, Niranjan Mendis and Dr. Kenneth De Zilwa. PACRA has been instrumental in setting up of the National Credit Rating in Bangladesh as a technical partner and providing advisory support to regional rating agencies and regulators. PACRA was a founding member of the Association of Credit Rating Agencies in Asia (ACRAA), which consists of 28 credit rating agencies in Asia. Among its many objectives, is to promote the Asian Bond market initiative and cross border investments.

PACRA Chief Executive Officer said: “We are delighted to partner with LRA in its quest to establish a domestic credit rating agency in Sri Lanka. PACRA is a strong proponent of free, fair, and transparent financial practices. We intend to bring our knowledge, experience and international best practices to Sri Lanka and contribute towards achieving economic goals set forth by the country through strengthening of financial sector.”

LRA Chief Executive Officer Adrian Perera said that Sri Lanka was going through a challenging time as part of its national agenda hopes to develop the corporate bond market to greater heights, which saw a steep decline since the end of 2015. LRA intends to play a pivotal role in achieving economic goals and deepening the financial markets in Sri Lanka while upholding highest standards of professionalism.

LRA Chairman Amarasuriya said: “The Lanka Rating Agency is looking forward to helping Sri Lanka creating a more robust domestic debt security and structured finance market by providing investors with useful, timely and accurate information while making the markets more accessible to organisations.”