Jayamaha was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka and received a Bachelor in Banking from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka in 1970, a Masters in Economics from the University of Stirling, United Kingdom in 1976 and a Doctor of Philosophy in Monetary Economics from the University of Bradford, United Kingdom in 1989.
In November 2012, the University of Stirling recognized Jayamaha with the degree of Doctor of the University (DUniv) in recognition of her career as one of the University"s first masters graduates in economics and as a person of distinction in the fields of Economics, Banking and Public Affairs.
She joined the Central Bank of Sri Lanka upon graduation and rose to the rank of Deputy Governor in 2004. She retired from the Central Bank in 2009 and was subsequently appointed chairperson of the Hatton National Bank, one of the largest private banks in Sri Lanka. From 2004 until her retirement in 2009, Jayamaha was deputy governor in charge of financial system stability of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
She has over 40 years of experience in the fields of economics, banking, finance, payment systems, regulation and administration, having held a number of positions at the Central Bank and other international institutions.
During her tenure as the deputy governor of the Central Bank, she served as chairperson of:
The Financial Stability Committee of the Bank
The Cr Information Bureau of Sri Lanka
The National Payments Council
Legal Forum
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Payment Council
Safeguard Assessment Committee of the Bank
Jayamaha has recently published a book, The Money Pipeline, which focuses on national payment systems with an emphasis on payment systems in Asia, particularly Sri Lanka. Secretary to the Presidential Commission on Finance & Banking
Advisor to the Financial Sector Reform Committee, Ministry of Finance
Special Advisor (Economic), Commonweath Secretariat, London, United Kingdom.
Member of the Global Payments Forum
Member of the Advisory Panel of G-8 Remittances Working Group
Member of the Expert Panel of Safeguard Assessment Policy Review 2010, International Monetary Fund.
