Accordingly, 8,417 persons have been served by a bank branch in the Western Province, while the banking density in the Western Province has been 11.89. 50% of people are within one mile from a bank and with ATM facilities within a radius of 2-3 miles. In contrast, according to latest available data, the Northern and Eastern provinces accounted for a share of 2.9% and 4.7% of the GDP during 2006. These two provinces had 61 and 80 branches, respectively, serving 19,000 and 18,662 persons per branch. The banking density in the two districts was at a low level of 5.26 and 5.36, respectively. Given the conflict in these two areas, the limited branch network, outreach and lower banking density are understandable. It is now time to enhance financial inclusion in the recently liberated Eastern Province. What action is needed and how quickly it can be implemented are challenging tasks, but financial inclusion, in general, and for women, in particular, is an area that should be given priority.
Unfortunately, not only has the contribution of women not been highlighted or fully appreciated, but there has also been no focused attention to enhance access to finance by women or to increase financial inclusion of women. Of the approximately 20mn population in Sri Lanka, 50% are females. The same ratio is found in all provinces according to latest data. For 3 consecutive years, the country has achieved a growth over 6% and a growth rate of 6.8% has been recorded for 2007. However, women’s contribution in this 6.8% is hidden. As at the end of 2007, we have exceeded a per capita income of US $ 1,600. The system of National Accounts or other systems that set standards in the compilation of National Income have recognized the need for separating women’s contribution to GDP but, so far, there is no acceptable formula for achieving this. Similarly, the gender budgeting that started in Australia and South Africa has not been followed or continued by many countries. Sri Lanka too recognized that there is a need to separately account for gender contribution in the budget. In that regard, some of us managed to include a couple of paragraphs announcing the gender budgeting policy in the 1999 Budget, but there has been no follow up since then. Drawbacks in financial inclusion and uneven ground situation The banking and financial sector in the country must be strong for financial inclusion to take place. Our banking sector has been showing advancement and growth. The financial system is stable and resilient.