This matter was raised during the discussion on the mandate of the Finance Institution Restructuring Agency (FIRA) in accordance with the 2016 budget proposal, official sources said.

The six ailing finance companies are to be amalgamated under the restructuring process proposed to the FIRA.

The FIRA on the lines of the Resolution Trust Corporation in the United States of America was set up with the Finance Ministry to help failing finance companies to be recapitalized and their troubled assets to be taken over by this agency for purposes of restructuring.

Former Deputy Governor of Central Bank B.D.W.Ananda Silva is the head of the FIRA.

The government will provide initial capital of Rs.10 million as equity and also issue a Treasury bond to the value of Rs. 25 billion with a tenure of 5 years for the FIRA.

The Central Bank has been entrusted to undertake strict supervision on these restructured finance companies.

These companies will be re-capitalised and their troubled assets to be taken by this agency for purposes of restructuring.

The Central Bank has been blamed for delaying investigations into six failing finance institutions a senior official who attended the meeting said adding that it was pointed out that the Bank’s supervisory capacity was insufficient.

The country’s monetary regulator has been directed to be more responsible on supervision and more vigilant on the status of the financial institutions in the country, he said.