CSE Clear (Private) Limited celebrates its first anniversary today, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of Sri Lanka’s capital market.
Established as the country’s first Central Counterparty (CCP), CSE Clear, a fully-owned subsidiary of the CSE, has successfully completed its inaugural year of operations, reinforcing market resilience, enhancing settlement efficiency and strengthening investor confidence through international best practices in clearing and settlement.
Since commencing operations, CSE Clear has played a pivotal role in mitigating counterparty risk by interposing itself between the buyers and sellers, ensuring the integrity of post-trade processes and providing greater certainty in regard to settlements to market participants. The successful implementation of the CCP model represents one of the most significant reforms in Sri Lanka’s securities market in recent decades, aligning the country’s post-trade infrastructure with globally accepted standards.
During its first year, CSE Clear successfully facilitated the clearing and settlement of equity market transactions with high operational reliability while maintaining robust risk management practices. The organisation established a comprehensive margining framework, introduced a Contributory Guarantee Fund to strengthen default management capabilities and advanced risk monitoring to safeguard market stability under a wide range of market conditions. And successfully cleared and settled Rs.1,188 billion worth of transactions through more than eight million trades.
Reflecting on this milestone, CSE Clear Chairman Arjuna Herath stated, “The successful completion of CSE Clear’s first year represents a landmark achievement in the evolution of Sri Lanka’s capital market infrastructure. By establishing a robust central counterparty clearing framework, CSE Clear has laid the foundation for a more resilient and dynamic marketplace, supporting sustainable growth, future innovation and greater opportunities for market development.”
CSE Chief Executive Officer Rajeeva Bandaranaike added, “I extend my warm congratulations to CSE Clear on its first anniversary. This achievement marks an important milestone in the ongoing development of Sri Lanka’s capital market and its future growth.”
Commenting on the milestone, CSE Clear Head Dulani Warnakulasooriya said, “Reaching our first anniversary is a proud milestone for CSE Clear and a reflection of the dedication and collaboration of everyone involved. I would like to sincerely thank our regulator, clearing members, custodian banks and all market participants for their unwavering support, commitment and partnership throughout this inaugural year. Despite the complexity of the transition, we have established a resilient clearing infrastructure that enhances market confidence and effectively manages settlement risk. Our focus now is to continue strengthening our risk management framework, enhance operational efficiency through greater automation and support future market initiatives that align Sri Lanka with the evolving global market standards.”
Building on the achievements of its inaugural year, CSE Clear remains committed to continuously enhancing its clearing and settlement infrastructure through innovation, automation and stronger risk management practices. Future initiatives will focus on expanding post-trade capabilities, supporting new market products, strengthening default management arrangements and further aligning the clearing framework with international best practices and the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMI).
