Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Namal Rajapaksa has called on President and Finance Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake to introduce a second-chance business loan scheme in the 2027 Budget to help entrepreneurs who have fully repaid their debts regain access to credit.
In a letter to the President, Rajapaksa said individuals who had experienced repayment difficulties in the past but subsequently settled their loans in full continued to face significant obstacles in obtaining fresh credit due to their records with the Credit Information Bureau (CRIB).
He said historical information on repaid loans remained in CRIB records for up to five years, potentially affecting borrowers’ ability to secure new loans, although CRIB did not blacklist individuals.
Citing Malaysia’s Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) as an example, Rajapaksa said the system updated loan statuses following full repayment and primarily reflected repayment histories covering the preceding 12 months.
He proposed five measures for inclusion in the 2027 Budget, including updating CRIB records within five working days of full loan repayment and clearly marking settled loans as “Fully Settled/Closed”.
He also called for guidelines requiring banks to assess loan applications based not only on past credit difficulties but also on applicants’ current income and repayment capacity.
Furthermore, he proposed reviewing the period for which historical credit information was retained in Sri Lanka, taking international practices into consideration.
Rajapaksa also called for a “Second-Chance Business Loan Scheme” to help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that had settled all their debt obligations restart their businesses.
A person who had previously struggled to repay a loan but had subsequently settled the debt in full should be given another opportunity to contribute to the economy, he said, adding that such measures would benefit both entrepreneurs and the country’s economic growth.
He urged the Government to introduce a prompt and lasting solution to the issue through the 2027 Budget. (Newswire)
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