In a statement issued on May 16, the bank said the issue stemmed from the incorrect application of the exchange rate for a single foreign currency within a specific remittance system, resulting in certain customers receiving excess payments during the affected period. The error has since been fully corrected, the bank noted.
Following the discovery of the anomaly, People’s Bank said it launched a comprehensive internal review and strengthened operational controls to avoid similar incidents in the future. The matter is also being reviewed in coordination with the relevant regulatory and supervisory authorities, including the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
The bank said the estimated financial impact of the error amounts to around LKR 656 million and has already been fully accounted for in its financial statements for the relevant years. As a result, no additional financial impact is expected.
According to the bank, recovery procedures relating to the affected transactions are currently underway, with progress already made in reclaiming the excess funds from the respective customers.
People’s Bank further assured customers and stakeholders that its regular banking operations, digital services and customer transactions remain unaffected. The bank emphasized that the incident has no material impact on its financial stability, profitability, or the safety of customer deposits, supported by its asset base of approximately LKR 3.8 trillion.
