Only 4 banks on board to provide working capital loans

So far only four banks have signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUS) with the Treasury to grant working capital loans under Enterprise Sri Lanka (ESL) to the tourism industry, a Treasury official said.

The working capital loan scheme was announced on May 8th along with the tourism relief package.

The official revealed that Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank, Hatton National Bank (HNB) and Union Bank have already signed MOUS with the Treasury.

She noted that procedural delays might be getting in the way of banks signing the MOUS with the Treasury.

The government also recently announced ‘Sancharaka Podda’ interest-free loan scheme under ESL for informal tourism sector.

The loan facility was to be granted via the State-owned Regional Development Bank (RDB).