A Quarter of SL's Bank Credit Is Now Vehicle Loans — Is This a Bubble?

The Central Bank's Financial Stability Review for 2026 shows vehicle and gold-backed loans together now make up close to a quarter of all bank and finance company credit, up sharply from under 20% just two years ago. Loans showing rising default risk on vehicles jumped over 75% in a year, which is part of why CBSL has already tightened loan-to-value limits — new vehicles now need a bigger down payment than before, and used ones are capped too. One side says this is just the lease market normalising after years of import bans froze demand, and the tighter LTVs are the Central Bank doing its job before people overextend. The other side says finance companies chased vehicle lending for the fat margins, signed up buyers who couldn't really afford the monthly bill, and the repossession auctions piling up lately are the proof landing right now. Did your leasing officer wave you through on numbers that felt too easy, or did a tighter down payment actually stop you from a bad decision? ඔයාගේ වාහන ලීසිං එක ගැන අද වෙනකල් අද හිතෙන විදිහ කොමෙන්ට් එකක් දාන්න.