Central Depository System reaches 31-year milestone

The Central Depository System (Pvt.) Limited (CDS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), reached its 31-year mark on September 2, marking another key milestone in the company’s journey. 

The CDS celebrates over three decades in the depository business, earning the trust of a large number of shareholders and users of the system. It was established in August 1991 to act as a depository in respect of securities traded on the CSE and to facilitate the settlement of securities that are traded. The CDS is the first depository in the South Asian region and one of the first few depositories globally.  

“The CDS has had an incredible journey over the last 31 years and has now grown to offer an augmented product range to its users. Their smooth operation, no doubt, offers the utmost convenience and flexibility to all depository participants.  

We are proud to see that the CDS is continuously working on innovations to further improve depository services and evolving quite rapidly into a paperless environment,” said CDS CEO Rajeeva Bandaranaike. 

Reflecting similar sentiments, CDS Deputy Head Nadeera Athukorale said, “We believe that the trust placed by the stakeholders with the CDS for over three decades is uppermost in our minds as we work towards the realisation of the vision of the CDS, the safe keeping aspects and more importantly, diversification beyond its traditional role to serve different market segments.” 

At present, the CDS interacts with 45 depository participants comprising 29 stockbroker firms and 16 custodian banks. In addition, the CDS services 290 listed issuers and over 800,000 CDS account holders.

The processes over 40,000 transactions, facilitate the opening of 907,536 CDS accounts and over 60 account holder change requests on a monthly basis.The CDS has completely decentralised its operations by empowering its participants and account holders, offering greater convenience and cost savings. 

The ability to open a CDS electronically from any part of the world, the ability to make nominations electronically and receive dividends directly to the bank account are some examples of how the CDS has brought its services to the investor’s fingertips.