He noted that the issue of finance companies under the purview of the Central Bank crashing or their licenses being canceled has resulted in the depositors facing grave hardships and this issue was discussed at length with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Hence, this decision that was taken would solve the issue of 93% of the TFC depositors, Minister Gunawardena said, noting that there is a 7% of depositors who had made deposits of more than Rs. 600,000. Accordingly, the balance amount of these depositors will be settled after the properties of the TFC are liquidated.

He also added that there have been many complaints regarding the cooperative societies where the rural folk has deposited their savings, adding that although these cooperatives are not under the purview of the Central Bank, the focus would be placed in the future regarding this issue.

Apart from the Finance and EAP, there are no issues with the other finance companies, said Co-Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, adding that during the recent past the trust placed in the Central Bank had been tarnished. He also said that despite the financial difficulties faced by the government during the recent pandemic, the government had made a huge commitment to providing relief to the people.

Responding to a question raised by a journalist on whether the government had printed Rs. 200 billion, Minister Gunawardena rejected the allegation.