The Centre for Banking Studies (CBS), the training & human resource development arm of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) commenced her mission of empowering the nation with knowledge and skills required for the development of the financial landscape, particularly the banking sector, on 15th September 1981 as the “Rural Banking and Staff Training College (RB&STC)”. The need of the day at the inception was to provide training with necessary knowledge and required skills to promote financial services in the rural sector and financial inclusiveness in the country as a whole. Therefore, the focus of the training courses at that time was concentrated on rural and development banking.
Over many years, Sri Lanka has been experiencing a progressive expansion in the financial and non-financial sectors with the rapid development in the economy and with the integration of the financial sector with the global financial system. The RB&STC, being the fore front of promoting knowledge and training, particularly the financial sector progress, diversified its programmes to suite the changing environment. Recognising these developments, the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka renamed RB&STC as the Centre for Banking Studies (CBS) in 1998.
Today, the CBS as a matured training institute offers a wide range of training programmes, seminars, and workshops in the areas of central banking, banking and finance, economics, management, languages and information technology for the officers of the central bank and the other financial institutions in the country as well as in other countries in collaboration with international organisations such as SEACEN, ADB, IMF, foreign central banks and international training institutions. In addition, the CBS conducts special programmes on request of public and private sector institutions to meet their emerging needs. All the CBS programmes are conducted by well experienced and exposed local and international professionals.