CBSL Tightens Vehicle LTV Ratios AGAIN – Effective TODAY (May 25, 2026)

CBSL Tightens Vehicle LTV Ratios AGAIN – Effective TODAY (May 25, 2026)

Announced ratios: 💵 Commercial vehicles: 60%
🚗 Cars, SUVs, vans: 40%
🛺 Three-wheelers: 40%
🚙 Other vehicles: 40%

⭕ LTV (Loan-to-Value) ratio is the maximum % of a vehicle's value that a bank will finance through a loan. The rest must be paid as a down payment from your own cash.

⭕ For example, if LTV is 40% and you want to buy a vehicle worth Rs. 10 million, you could only finance 40% of it, meaning Rs. 4 million. You should have 60% from your own money. In this case, Rs. 6 million.

⭕ This is the second tightening since July 2025 for all vehicle categories:

◽ Commercial vehicles: 80% → 70% → 60%

◽ Cars, SUVs, vans: 60% → 50% → 40%

◽ Three-wheelers: 50% → 50% → 40%

◽ Other vehicles: 50% → 50% → 40% (down 10%)

⭕ LTV is an effective macroprudential tool to moderate vehicle import demand by tightening access to credit. It prioritizes buyers with stronger upfront affordability, while encouraging others to delay purchases.

⭕ This would have been a more subtle way to curb vehicle imports earlier, instead of creating unnecessary panic through duty surcharges, which added uncertainty to the FX market.

#SriLanka