Banking & Finance Law
Lending, borrowing, restructuring, debt recovery, and financial compliance advice handled with a dispute-aware perspective.
II · Overview
How we approach law.
Our banking and finance practice advises on lending structures, borrower exposure, debt recovery, and compliance-sensitive financial matters. The work is grounded in both transactional awareness and litigation discipline.
We assist in matters involving loan documentation, secured and unsecured borrowing, restructuring, and regulatory issues affecting financial relationships or enforcement strategy.
Licensed banks and finance companies operate inside a supervisory framework — principally the Banking Act No. 30 of 1988 and directions issued under it by the Central Bank — that shapes what a facility can look like before commercial terms are even discussed. Foreign-currency elements bring the Foreign Exchange Act No. 12 of 2017 into play, and capital-market participants answer additionally to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka Act No. 19 of 2021.
Recovery routes differ by lender and by security. Licensed banks may proceed under the Debt Recovery (Special Provisions) framework or, where a mortgage permits, by parate execution. That remedy is quick because it bypasses the ordinary trial process, which is also why courts examine it closely when it is challenged. Other creditors bring ordinary civil action in the District Court. Choosing the wrong route costs more time than it saves.
Most of the disputes that reach this practice were decided at documentation stage. Whether security was properly perfected, whether a guarantee was executed by someone with authority to give it, and whether default was declared in the manner the facility required: the file answers all three, and argument seldom improves on it.
This is particularly valuable where commercial decisions may later move into formal dispute, recovery, or regulatory scrutiny.
III · Index of Services
What we handle.
Facility and loan documentation
Security: mortgages, charges and debentures
Guarantees and third-party security
Perfection and registration of security
Debt recovery under the Debt Recovery (Special Provisions) framework
Parate execution and challenges to it
Enforcement against guarantors
Loan restructuring and workouts
Banking Act and Central Bank directions compliance
Foreign Exchange Act No. 12 of 2017 advisory work
Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory matters
Leasing and hire-purchase disputes
Recovery litigation in the District and Commercial High Courts
IV · Representations
We have acted for those who require discretion.
Licensed banks and finance companies
Financial institutions
Borrowers
Corporate entities
Directors and guarantors
V · Connected Writing
Insights, in context.
VI · Common Questions
Questions we are often asked.
- What is parate execution and can it be challenged?
- It is a statutory power allowing certain lenders to sell mortgaged property on default without first obtaining a decree. Because it sidesteps the ordinary trial process, courts examine closely whether the preconditions were met: the state of the default, the notice given, and the terms of the mortgage itself. Challenges succeed on procedure far more often than on the merits of the debt.
- When does a foreign-currency facility raise regulatory questions?
- Where funds cross the border or an obligation is denominated in foreign currency, the Foreign Exchange Act No. 12 of 2017 and the regulations under it govern what is permitted and what requires approval. It is worth settling before drawdown rather than at repayment, when the position is harder to correct.
- Does the firm act for both lenders and borrowers?
- Yes. The practice advises financial institutions, borrowers, and guarantors on loan documentation, security, restructuring, and recovery, and it does so with an eye to how a transaction would be tested if it later became a dispute.
- Can you assist with debt recovery in Sri Lanka?
- Yes. The chambers pursues recovery through negotiation, statutory demand, and litigation, including action on secured and unsecured facilities and enforcement against guarantors.
- What route is used to recover a commercial loan?
- It depends on the facility and the security involved. Common routes include ordinary civil action in the District Court and, for licensed banks, the Debt Recovery (Special Provisions) framework. The right choice turns on the amount, the security, and the borrower's circumstances.
AW
VII · Engage Counsel
Discuss your matter.
Conversations with the Chambers are confidential. We respond within one working day.
