Steered by strong leadership, we are governed to ensure our functions are efficient and transparent
Top economist and senior banker, Dr. Kenneth De Zilwa assumed duty as the 5th Chairman of LankaClear on 1st June, 2021 for a term of three years.
Dr. De Zilwa counts for over 20 years of experience in banking, managing business at senior managerial level across all verticals. He is an expert in Treasury, especially in the areas of risk management, money markets and debt markets; in both domestic and international financial markets, alike. He was a part of the Global Advisory team for Government of Sri Lanka USD Bond Issuance and worked closely with the senior officials of the Central Bank in drafting guidelines for the market during his tenure at HSBC.
Dr. De Zilwa was also the President of the Sri Lanka Forex Association and has been instrumental in setting up of the ACI Market Ethics Committee, Education Committee and a Regulatory Framework, inspiring and leading the Association to new heights. Under his leadership, Dr. De Zilwa was able to gain Sri Lanka Forex the full membership of ACI International and make the Association internationally reputed. He was appointed Secretary for the ACI Model Code Committee by Central Bank and was responsible for Sri Lanka’s First Interest Rate Option and Currency Derivative Transactions in Sri Lanka and also developed the First Islamic Finance Rupee Bond i.e. Sukuk. He was recently appointed by UNDP as a consultant to the Ministry of Finance & Planning apart from being a consultant to several leading local and international organizations.
A veteran in Business Cycles and Real Economy, Dr. De Zilwa holds a PhD, an MA in Economics and a Postgraduate Diploma in Development Economics from the University of Colombo. He also holds an MA in Economics for Development from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, Netherlands apart from the Postgraduate Diploma in Bank Management and Finance from the Institute of Bankers Sri Lanka. He has contributed to many papers in reputed Journals, including the anniversary edition of the Association of Professional Bankers.
Ranjith Kodituwakku is serving as the Chief Executive Officer/General Manager of People’s Bank with effect from 19th June 2020. Commencing a career in 1982 in the Bank, he has specialized in a wide spectrum of areas covering Branch Banking, Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, Corporate Banking, Off-shore Banking, International Banking, Project Financing, Recoveries, Digitalization, etc. with extensive local and international training/exposure gained through working in different capacities at different geographical locations.
He is a key figure in driving the bank towards digitalization on mapping business requirements to a digital platform by adopting best practices in the industry and re-engineering business processes for which the bank was awarded many prestigious awards/recognitions both internationally and locally.
Additionally, he has played a key role in the efforts carried out by People’s Bank to re-open bank’s branches in the Northern Province with the aim of rebuilding the lives of people and strengthening the economy of the region soon after the end of humanitarian operation in 2009.
He also serves as a Director of People’s Insurance PLC, Lanka Alliance Finance Ltd Bangladesh, Regional Development Bank Sri Lanka, Board of Financial Ombudsman Sri Lanka (Guarantee) Ltd, Credit Information Bureau of Sri Lanka and as an Alternate Director of the Lanka Financial Services Bureau.
Ranjith Kodituwakku holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration specialized in Finance from the University of Colombo, Bachelor of Law (Honours) from the University of New Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom and is an Associate Member of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka
Mr. Russel Fonseka, Additional General Manager/Chief Financial Officer Bank of Ceylon appointed as a Director on the Board of LankaClear (Private) Limited with effect from 12th May 2020.
He currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer/Senior Deputy General Manager (Corporate & Offshore Banking) of Bank of Ceylon and has been representing the Corporate Management of the Bank since 2012. He counts more than 30 years of experience in both international and local arenas whilst acquiring wide experience in all aspects of commercial banking including treasury activities, international operations, retail banking and specialized in financial management and strategic planning of the Bank of Ceylon.
Mr Fonseka serves as a Director on the Boards of Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka & Finance PLC, Property Development PLC and Transnational Lanka Records Solutions (Private) Limited. He also served as an Alternate Director on the Board of LankaClear (Private) Limited. Mr Fonseka acts as the Chairman to the Audit Committees of Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka & Finance PLC, Property Development PLC and LankaClear (Private) Limited as well. Mr Fonseka was appointed to the Council of Association of Accounting Technicians of Sri Lanka with effect from 05th February 2020 and serves as the President of the Governing Council since then.
Mr Fonseka graduated from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka with a Bachelor of Science (Special) Degree in Business Administration and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), University of Sri Jayewardenepura Sri Lanka and a Master Degree of Business Administration from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. Mr Fonseka is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, a Senior Fellow Member of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka and a Member of the Alumni of the Harvard Business School of USA as well.
Mr. Sanjay Wijemanne is the Deputy General Manager – Retail & SME Banking at Hatton National Bank PLC and manages the areas of Personal Financial Services (Leasing, Pawning Personal and Housing Loans), SME/Microfinance, Credit Cards, Sales and Business Development, Network Management, Deposit Mobilization, Marketing Communications, Customer Service, Club and Priority Banking, Inward Remittances and Exchange House Relationships and Bancassurance. He has a B.Sc in Business and Finance from Mount Saint Mary’s University, USA.
He is also a Director at Acuity Stockbrokers (Pvt) Ltd., HNB General Insurance, and Acuity Partners (Pvt) Ltd.
He commenced his career with Ceylinco Securities & Financial Services and then joined HNB as a Management Trainee/Executive. Thereafter, he joined HSBC where he held different positions such as Vice President – Custody and Clearing, Head of Sales, Head of Branches including Premier Banking, Branch Manager – Kollupitiya Branch/Manager Premier Centre.
He then joined Standard Chartered Bank and held positions of Head of Retail Banking, General Manager – Premium Banking Branch Sales and Services and General Manager – Wealth Management Value Centre.
Mr. Jayalath is the Assistant Governor In charge of international operations, domestic operations, payments and settlement and information technology. Prior to this, Mr. Jayalath held the positions of Assistant Governor in charge of regulation and supervision of banks and non-bank financial institutions, Head/Superintendent of the Employees Provident Fund, Director of Domestic Operations Department, responsible for implementation of monetary policy covering open market operations and banking services; Additional Head of the International Operations Department, responsible for managing the foreign exchange reserves of the Bank, Chief Dealer, Head of Risk Management; Bank Examiner; Economist and Internal Auditor, since joining the Bank in 1990. He holds graduate degrees in Economics (MA Econ) from the University of Kansas USA and in Business Management (MBA) from the Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura Sri Lanka and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka. He is also a Fellow of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.
Mr. de Silva brings well seasoned skill and expertise in banking, finance and commerce to his role at SLBA through which he comes to the Board of LankaClear as an observer. His wide ranging knowledge and particular experience in the areas of Credit and Risk has been gained in a career of over 45 years in which he has held progressively senior positions in banking and financial services as well as in general management of diversified private sector commercial entities both in Sri Lanka and internationally.
Beginning in Sri Lanka as a Management Trainee at Commercial Bank and progressing through credit and branch managerial roles, Mr. de Silva moved to the private sector at board level with the Lewis Browns Holding Company Group. He left Sri Lanka in 1988 and has had varied international experience with the HSBC Group where he stayed until his retirement at the end of 2012.At HSBC, Mr. de Silva has headed the Credit and Risk functions in HSBC subsidiaries and new acquisitions. He is familiar with the challenges of managing risk and implementing change; viewed from the Chief Credit Officer’s seat in HSBC Bermuda, managing the bank’s exposure to the insurance / reinsurance industry,hedge funds, banks, sovereigns and MNCs during the ‘financial crisis’. He also had a quite different experience from the Chief Risk Officer’s seat in HSBC / Dar Es Salaam Investment Bank in Baghdad. In both these jurisdictions he was in the midst of managing the significant challenges arising from major system implementations /conversions, in the ‘new’ HSBC acquisitions.
After retirement from the HSBC Group at end of 2012 he lived in the UK undertaking adhoc consultancy assignments until his return to Sri Lanka in August 2016. He assumed the current role as Secretary General at SLBA on 1 August 2017.
Mr. de Silva holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Sri Lanka, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers UK and has been admitted as an Attorney at Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.
Mr. Vasantha Alwis is the Director of the Information Technology Department of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Mr. Alwis has a Master’s Degree in Information Technology from the Swinburne University of Technology, Australia and a B. SC , Special Degree in Computer Science from the University of Colombo Sri Lanka.
Mr. Alwis started his career at the Central Bank in 1997 and he has served in the Sri Lanka Automated Clearing House since 2000 before he was posted to the Information Technology Department of the Central Bank.
He has been specialized in the Financial Market Infrastructures and has played a key role in implementing the Real Time Gross Settlements System(RTGS) and the Scripless Securities Settlement System by the Central Bank in 2003 – 2004. He is a member of the National Payment Council too.
Mr. Alwis has an excellent track record in the Central Bank by delivering key IT Projects.
He has assisted to many Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committees by working as a member in the relevant Technical Evaluation Committees
Mr. Thimal Perera is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DFCC Bank PLC. He functioned as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Bank prior to his appointment as the CEO and was appointed to the Board in July 2019.
He has held several senior positions in the banking sector and has over two decades of experience in the financial services and banking sector, both locally and internationally having been with the HSBC Group, both in Sri Lanka and overseas, the Commercial Bank of Qatar, Barclays Bank Plc and UAE. He was the Deputy General Manager of Hatton National Bank where he guided the retail and SME banking sector.
While at HNB he also served as a board member of HNB Assurance PLC, HNB General Insurance Ltd and HNB Finance Ltd where he as also the Chairman of the Board Audit Committee. He is also the Chairman of Synapsys Limited, Acuity Partners Limited, and DFCC Consulting (Pvt) Ltd and serves as a Director of Lanka Clear (Pvt) Ltd, of Lanka Ventures PLC and LVL Energy Fund PLC.
Mr. Perera is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and a finalist of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK.
Mr. Ravin Basnayake was appointed Citi Country Officer Sri Lanka with effect from 01st January, 2012.
He is a veteran Citibanker with over 32 years of banking experience and has served in several key positions within the Sri Lanka franchise.
Prior to his appointment as CCO, he served as Head of Corporate Banking Group, where he led the Global Banking business in Sri Lanka.
Ravin has been serving the board of American Chamber of Commerce since 2014 and has held office as President of AmCham.
Ravin holds a MBA from the Post Graduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayawardenapura and is an Associate Member of Institute of Financial Services of the United Kingdom.
