J P R Karunaratne is the Secretary to the Monetary Board and possess over 30 years (1991) experience in the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and at present Assistant Governor in charge of Department of Supervision of Non-Bank Financial Institutions, Regional Development Department, Macroprudential Surveillance Department and Risk Management Department. Before promoting as an Assistant Governor, he has held several senior management positions as Director of Department of Supervision of Non Bank Financial Institutions, Superintendent of Currency, Additional Director of Bank Supervision Department, Additional Superintendent of Public Debt Department, Additional Secretary of the Secretariat Department and Deputy Director of Policy Review and Monitoring Department.
Mr. Karunaratne obtained his first Degree in Mathematics and Statistics with a First Class and then a Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Statistics from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
He obtained the Masters of Commerce Degree with specialization in Finance from University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He is also a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) UK and an Associate Member of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka.
He was the Project Team Leader of the SEACEN research project on “Implementation of Basel III Challenges and Opportunities in SEACEN Countries” and published the research paper in 2013. Also published the article on Basel III Reforms in the SEACEN Economic Letter, November, 2013.
He has also worked as a financial advisor for the Ministry of Defense, Sri Lanka during the period 2007-2009.
He has also made presentations and served as a Panelist at several overseas conferences/seminars including European Central Bank, Monetary Authority of Maldives, Alliance for Financial Inclusion Malaysia, De La Rue International programmes in India and Indonesia, Currency Conference in Poland representing Central Bank of Sri Lanka. He has received Long Service Award of Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (IBSL) 2019 in recognition of his long career and contribution as a resource person at IBSL.