MBSL announces new Board appointments

Wednesday, 12 August 2026 05:38 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka and Finance PLC (MBSL) has appointed Mangala Niyarepola as an Independent Non-Executive Director and Sampath Perera as a Non-Independent Non-Executive Director to its Board.

Niyarepola is an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka (1999) and a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales (2003). He holds an LL.M. in Corporate Law from King’s College, University of London.

He has over 26 years of experience in civil, corporate, and commercial litigation, having practiced both in Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom, including as Principal Solicitor of Leyman Solicitors, UK. He has also served as a Director of Manryk Limited, a UK financial services institution.

Niyarepola is currently the lead Counsel at Ceylits Chambers, specializing in civil and corporate litigation, arbitration, writ applications, fundamental rights and appellate practice.

Perera is a senior banking professional with over two decades of experience in banking, credit management, development lending, corporate relations, offshore banking, and branch operations. He currently serves as the Deputy General Manager – Development Lending and Branch Credit (Region 02) at Bank of Ceylon.

His areas of expertise include credit risk management, commercial lending, strategic business leadership, corporate relations, process improvement, change management, and organisational transformation. He also possesses international banking experience, having contributed to the establishment of commercial lending operations at Bank of Ceylon (UK) Ltd. In addition, he has over three and a half years of experience in Treasury and FOREX operations, further strengthening his expertise across key banking functions.

Perera holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), University of Sri Jayewardenepura, and a B.Sc. (Special) Degree in Business Management from Rajarata University of Sri Lanka. He has further strengthened his professional credentials through a Diploma in Banking and Finance and is an Associate of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (AIBSL). In addition, he has completed the Advanced Course in Strategic Management conducted by the Postgraduate Institute of Management, reflecting his commitment to continuous professional development and strategic leadership in the banking sector.