Credit Information Bureau of Sri Lanka

(1) The administration and management of the affairs of the Bureau shall be vested in the Board of Directors (hereinafter referred to as the “Board”) consisting of

(2) The provisions of the Schedule to this Act shall have effect in relation to the term of office of the Directors of the Bureau, and the remuneration payable to such Directors, meetings and the seal of the Bureau.

(3) The Board shall exercise, perform, and discharge all powers, duties and functions conferred or imposed on, or assigned to, the Bureau by this Act.

(a) to collect and collate, trade, credit and financial information on borrowers and prospective borrowers of lending institutions;

(b) to provide credit information, on request, to lending institutions who are shareholders of the Bureau and simultaneously to borrowers and prospective borrowers to whom such information relate ;

(c) to establish a credit rating system In Sri Lanka, to undertake credit rating and to sell such credit ratings to any foreign and local agencies, or to any person making a request for such ratings; and

(d) to undertake research projects for lending institutions who are shareholders of the Bureau,

(a) to maintain a data bank on borrowers from lending institutions ;

(b) to collect and collate trade, credit and financial information on borrowers or prospective borrowers of lending institutions;

(c) to store the information so collected :

(d) to furnish credit information on request-

and to prescribe the forms in which such information is to be furnished ;

(dd) to sell credit ratings on request to foreign or local agencies or to any person:

(e) to levy such lees as it may deem necessary for furnishing credit information ;

(f) to acquire and to hold, any movable or immovable property, and to lease, mortgage, sell or otherwise dispose of, such property ;

(g) to open and close current and deposit accounts in any commercial bank;

(h) to appoint a General Manager who shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Bureau ;

(i) to appoint such other officers, and servants as may be necessary for carrying out the work of the Bureau ;

(j) to establish pension and provident fund and provide welfare and recreational facilities, houses, hostels and other like accommodation, to persons employed by the Bureau;

(k) to determine the remuneration payable to the officers and servants so appointed;

(l) to pay such remuneration out of the Fund of the Bureau ;

(m) to enter into and perform, all such contracts, whether in or outside Sri Lanka, as may be necessary for the exercise of the powers and the performance of the duties of the Bureau ;

(n) to make rules in respect of the administration of the affairs of the Bureau ;

(o) generally to do all such other things as are necessary to facilitate the proper carrying on of the affairs of the Bureau.

(p) to undertake research projects for lending institutions who are shareholders of the Bureau;”; and

(1) The authorized capital of the Bureau shall be hundred million rupees divided into one million shares of one hundred rupees each.

(2) The issued capital of the Bureau shall be such amount as may be determined, from time to time, by the Board.

(1) No person other than the Monetary Board or a lending institution shall be entitled to purchase shares in the Bureau,

(2) The Monetary Board shall invite and receive applications for the initial issue of shares to the Bureau and shall on receipt of such applications, allot shares to the Monetary Board and lending institutions in the following proportions.

(3) No allotment or transfer of shares of the Bureau, after the initial issue of shares, shall be made except with the written approval of the Monetary Board.

(4) In granting approval for an allotment or transfer of shares under subsection (3), the Monetary Board shall endeavour to ensure that it retains at least thirty-one percent of the issued share capital of the Bureau.”.

(1) The Bureau may, from time to time, borrow sums of money from the Central Bank or lending institutions for periods not exceeding six months.

(2) The aggregate borrowings by the Bureau under subsection (1) shall at no time exceed a sum equivalent to the paid-up capital of the Bureau.

(1) The Bureau shall have its own fund (hereinafter referred to ” the Fund “).

(2) There shall be paid into the Fund

(3) There shall paid out of the Fund, all such sums as are required to defray the expenses incurred by the Bureau in the exercise, performance and discharge of its powers, duties and functions under this Act or under any other written law and all such sums as are required to be paid out of the Fund, by this Act,

(1) The Board shall establish a general reserve fund for staff welfare to which shall be transferred such sums, from the net profits of the Bureau, as may be determined by the Board.

(2) The reserve fund for staff welfare shall be applied in such manner as the Board may determine for the provision of training, housing and welfare facilities to officers and servants of the Bureau.

(3) The Board shall establish reserve funds, for such other purposes as may be determined by the Board.

(1) The Board shall appoint annually, a qualified auditor to audit the accounts of the Bureau.

(2) The Board of shall cause the accounts of the Bureau for each year to be audited by the auditor appointed under subsection (1) before the thirtieth day of June of the succeeding year.

(3) The auditor appointed under subsection (1) shall examine the accounts of the Bureau and ascertain the correctness of the balance sheet and furnish a report stating-

(4) The report of the auditor shall be transmitted to the Board.

(5) In this section “qualified auditor” means-

1. The Board shall on receipt of the Auditor’s report, under section 18, respect of any year cause a copy of each of the following documents relating to that year to be transmitted to the Minister and to all the share holders:-

(1) The Board may delegate any of its powers duties and functions under this Act to any officer of the Bureau.

(2) Any officer to whom any power duty or function is delegated under subsection (1) shall exercise, perform and discharge, such power duty or function, subject to such directions as may be given to him by the Board.

(3) The Board shall notwithstanding any delegation made under subsection (1) have the power to exercise, perform and discharge the powers, duties and functions so delegated.

(1) The Bureau or any person authorized in that behalf by the Bureau may, by notice in writing, require any lending institution to furnish to the Bureau or to any person authorized by the Bureau, within such period as shall be specified in the notice, all such returns and information relating to the borrowers from such lending institution as shall be specified in such notice.

(2) It shall be the duty of any lending institution required to furnish any return or information by a notice under subsection (1) to comply with the requirements of such notice within the time specified in such notice, notwithstanding any thing to the contrary, in any law establishing such lending institution or other law or in any agreement entered into between such lending institution and borrower.

(3) No information contained in a return furnished tinder subsection (1) in compliance with the requirements of a notice issued under this section shall be published or communicated by the Bureau to any other person except to a lending institution which is a shareholder of the Bureau at the request of such shareholder and simultaneously to any borrower or prospective borrower to whom such information relates or in the course of the discharge of the functions of the Bureau.

(1) No Director or other officer or servant of the Bureau, shall, except for the purposes of this Act or when required to do so by any law, disclose any information furnished to the Bureau under this Act or produce before any Court or other institution, any return or other information furnished to the Bureau under this Act.

(2) No director, officer or servant employed in the business of any lending institution which is a share holder of the Bureau shall, except for the purposes of this Act or when required to do so by any law, disclose any information furnished to the Bureau under this Act or produce before any Court or other institution any return or other information furnished to the Bureau under this Act.

(1) “Every Director of the Bureau and all officers and servants of the Bureau, shall before entering upon his duties, sign a declaration pledging himself to observe strict secrecy respecting all matters connected with the affairs of the Bureau, and shall by such declaration pledge himself not to reveal any matters which may come to his knowledge in the performance or discharge of his duties and functions except

(2) Every director, officer or servant employed in the business of any lending institution which is a shareholder of the Bureau shall sign a declaration pledging himself to observe strict secrecy in respect of credit or financial information obtained by such lending institution sum the Bureau and all matters relating thereto, and shall by such declaration pledge himself not to reveal any such information or matter except

(1) No suit or prosecution shall lie

(2) Any expenses incurred by the Bureau in any suit or prosecution brought by or against the Bureau before any court shall be paid out of the Fund and any costs paid to, or recovered by the Bureau in any such suit) or prosecution shall be credited to the Fund.

(3) Any expenses incurred by any such person as is referred to in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) in any suit or prosecution brought against him before any court in respect of any act which is done or is purported to be done by him under this Act or on the direction of the Board shall, if the court holds that such act was done in good faith, be paid out of the Fund, to such person, unless such expense is recovered by him in such suit or prosecution.

(1) The Board may make rules which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, in respect of all or any of the matters in respect of which rules are authorized or required by this Act to be made.

(2) No rule made by the Board under subsection (I) shall have effect until it has been approved by the Minister, and notification of such approval is published in the Gazette,

(1) Every person who

(2) Every person who commits an offence under this Act shall on conviction after trial before a Magistrate, be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(3) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body or persons, then

(4) The Board may, having regard to the circumstances in which an offence under subsection (1) (a) or (b) was committed compound such offence for a sum not exceeding fifty thousand rupees. All sums received by the Board in composition for an offence under this section shall be credited to the Fund.

(a) a licensed commercial bank;

(b) a finance company ;

(c) the National Savings Bank;

(d) the National Development Bank of Sri Lanka ;

(e) State Mortgage and Investment Bank;

(f) Development Finance Corporation of Ceylon ;

(g) Any other institution, engaged in providing credit, declared by the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance, having regard to the financial stability of that institution, by order published in the Gazette, to be a lending institution for the purposes of this Act.