Rs. 60 b cheques bouncing in 2Q a grave sign: Human rights activist

Muheed Jeeran

International Human Rights Activist Muheed Jeeran yesterday warned that cheques worth Rs. 60 billion bouncing in 2Q as a “grave sign.”

“It is a grave sign that shows the chain of business cycles is edging closer for a sudden stop,” he said.

As per payments bulletin released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) for 2Q22 over 250,000 cheques worth Rs. 59.6 billion have been returned during the 2Q as against 192,300 cheques in 1Q.

The report also showed that the volume of cheques returned (as a percentage of the total volume of cheques received for clearing) increased to 3.2% in 2Q22 from 2.1% in 1Q22, while the average volume of cheques returned per day was 4,335. The average value of daily cheques returned increased to Rs. 1 billion in 2Q22 from Rs. 681.3 million in 1Q22.

The data revealed that out of the total cheques returned during the period, 37.1% were returned under the code “Refer to Drawer” and 16.9% by “Payment Stopped by Drawer”.

The increase in cheque returns during 2Q22 is in a background where even the total number of cheques cleared was reduced to 7.9 million from 9.2 million in the quarter earlier.