20 Apr 2009

PNG Bank South Pacific reveals huge losses through fraud and theft each year

2:44 pm on 20 April 2009

Papua New Guinea's Bank South Pacific says it loses, on an annual basis, about 3.5 million US dollars through robberies and fraud.

The newspaper, The National, reports the BSP chief executive officer, Ian Clyne, revealed this during the unveiling of the re-branded BSP headquarters in downtown Port Moresby last week.

Mr Clyne says half the money is loss to theft and half through fraud.

The Bank has suffered a series of major robberies in the past year and the site of one of them, the branch in Kerema in Gulf Province, has been permanently shut as a result.

Mr Clyne says the Bank, which dominates the PNG market, is committed to giving Papua New Guineans access to banking services, but he says setting up branches can be expensive due to the very high level of risk.