20 August 2020 10:31 am
The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) announced its decision to maintain the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) at the current levels of 4.50 percent and 5.50 percent.
The CBSL said that the Monetary Board has recognised the necessity to continue the accommodative monetary policy stance, particularly as market lending rates are yet to reflect the full pass-through of policy easing measures implemented thus far.
“The Board decided to adopt targeted measures to reduce specific interest rates that it considered to be excessive, which would help marginal borrowers,” the CBSL said.
It added that the Board anticipates a further reduction in overall market lending rates, thereby encouraging borrowing for productive economic activity and reinforcing support for COVID-19 hit businesses as well as the broader economy, given the conditions of subdued inflation.