Central banks of the British Commonwealth, after independence, took their role as the sole issuers of the nation’s money as their central serious role. In Sri Lanka, Douglas Gunesekera who wrote its law and initially executed its functions, would explain our national institution must be sole issuers of nationally recognised money.
The reason was that in the years of World Wars and the depression in Britain, we were not bombed nor had a bad economy. But we suffered a lack of cash just the same as the Colonial power, Britain. We had currency boards which ensured that our money was the exact equivalent of the British Pound.
