15 Sep 2006

New locally owned bank in Fiji likely

6:35 am on 15 September 2006

Fiji could soon have its second locally-owned commercial bank if the Reserve Bank gives its approval.

The Home Finance Company has applied for a licence to operate a commercial bank.

The company is 75-percent owned by the Fiji National Provident Fund and 25-percent by the Unit Trust of Fiji.

When it started operations in Fiji during colonial days in the early 1960's, it was 100-percent owned by the Commonwealth Development Corporation.

Home Finance has started offering term deposit rates of 6-percent for 18-month terms which are relatively high compared with what is offered by current commercial banks.