Sri Lanka reverts to $400 million Foreign Currency Swap with RBI

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said Sri Lanka can boost its reserves by drawing down on a US$ 400 million foreign exchange SWAP with the Reserve Bank of India in August 2021.

Sri Lanka signed the SWAP deal available to SAARC countries in 2020, according to CBSL Governor W D Lakshman, and it was repaid in February 2021 after being rolled over once.

The CBSL Governor stated that a few more drawings are available for Sri Lanka, but that authorities must wait for a six-month cooling-off period after the first couple of drawings are completed.

As a result, according to W D Lakshman, the next drawing for Sri Lanka will be available in August 2021.
The CBSL Governor, speaking about the SWAP arrangements that have been approved with Bangladesh banks, stated that the process is moving quickly, with various prerequisites being met, and that the SWAP agreement might be obtained as soon as next month.

Sri Lanka had 4.4 billion US dollars in reserves in April 2021, according to figures released by the CBSL. (NewsWire)