Should Central Banks Make Profits?
Dr. W.A. Wijewardena
Fuss over Central Bank’s reduced level of profits
A few years back, when the Central Bank’s senior officers were summoned before the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises, commonly known as COPE, the members of the Committee were inquisitive about the Central Bank’s making a lesser amount of profits in the year in question compared to the previous year. The Committee had been guided by a report filed by the Auditor General.
The Committee was perplexed when it was explained to them that a good central bank is not supposed to make profits, unlike other organisations; central banks can make profits just by making book entries, those book entries invariably lead to an increase in money supply and through it an increase in inflation rate and therefore good central banks which are expected to keep inflation at a low and stable level do not target for profits but allow profits to arise in their normal monetary policy operations.
By the same token, if a central bank has increased its profit levels through its domestic operations, it means that the particular central bank has caused inflation in the economy by expanding its asset base and it is not a good barometer of evaluating the performance of a central bank. Read More
My Memories Of The Rt. Revd. Lakshman Wickremesinghe (1927 – 1983)
Late Bishop of Kurunegala, Revd. Lakshman Wickremesinghe
Tissa Jayatilaka
Thirty years have passed by since we experienced three significant events in the recent history of our country. Coincidentally the 23rd of July, September and October of 1983 are yoked together in our memory. What we have come to identify as “Black July” of Sri Lanka, when unarmed Tamil citizens were attacked and killed by goons associated with leading members of the Government of Sri Lanka of the time, began on 23 July, 1983. Two months later on 23 September, one of Sri Lanka’s finest sons spoke sincerely, eloquently, passionately and apologetically about our national tragedy focusing on ‘Black July’ when he addressed his diocese in Kurunegala, in what turned out to be his last Pastoral Address. A month later on 23 October, that marvellous son of Sri Lanka lay dead. I refer to the late Bishop Cyril Lakshman Wickremesinghe and write these several inadequate words to remember him with love and gratitude on this thirtieth anniversary of that insightful Pastoral Address.Read More
