Jul 27, 2021 â 12.19pm
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Papua New Guineaâs biggest lender, Bank of South Pacific, defied market orthodoxy in January when its chief executive, Robin Fleming, argued forcefully against Westpacâs proposed $420 million sale of its operations in the country to rival lender Kina Securities.
Bank of South Pacific CEO Robin Fleming.Â
Convention would hold that an acquisition aimed at reducing PNGâs oligopoly of three banks to two would benefit BSP â and its lenders â as the dominant lender in the Pacific country.
Indeed, an Australian Treasury paper by former Pacific division adviser Peter Biggs found that because of the ârelatively fewâ financial services organisations in the country, âcompetitive pressure is relatively lightâ.