21 Aug 2013

American Samoa Govt begin moving accounts to new bank

11:04 am on 21 August 2013

The government of American Samoa is taking final steps to migrate its bank accounts to U.S. based Zions Bank.

Zions Bank will take over certain government bank accounts currently handled by the Bank of Hawaii, which will be fully closed down in the territory by early next year.

The Governor's Office says Zions Bank will handle the government's depository accounts and provide treasury management, payroll, and commercial card services.

The governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga says that while this does not yet resolve all of the banking issues facing the territory and its people, it's a step in the right direction towards a permanent solution to fulfill the financial needs of local residents.

The Bank of Hawai'i plans to shut down all of its operations in the territory by mid March of 2014.