Sri Lanka, March 10 -- Former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy, addressed allegations regarding the surge in International Sovereign Bond (ISB) borrowings during his tenure that led to the country's debt default, clarifying that much of the debt was used for liability management and to avert an earlier default.

Speaking at a public lecture on "A New Paradigm in Macroeconomic Management," Dr. Coomaraswamy responded to claims that his administration's borrowing policies contributed to Sri Lanka's eventual default. He acknowledged that ISB borrowings increased from USD 5 billion in early 2015 to USD 15 billion by the end of 2019 but argued that nearly half of this was due to switching financial in...