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The National Bank of Tuvalu (NBT) is the sole provider in
Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northea ...
of banking services involving taking deposits, making loans and engaging in foreign exchange transactions. In 2020, its assets were AUD$128 million, or 160% of the GDP of Tuvalu. There is no
monetary authority In finance and economics, a monetary authority is the entity that manages a country’s currency and money supply, often with the objective of controlling inflation, interest rates, real GDP or unemployment rate. With its monetary tools, a m ...
or
central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a centra ...
in Tuvalu. The NBT performs some monetary functions for the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
, including the holding of government accounts and foreign assets. The NBT is the only institution in Tuvalu that provides foreign exchange transactions. The NBT buys and sells foreign exchange at rates determined by the board of the NBT, which takes account of the rates quoted in the international markets. The NBT cashes travellers cheques. There are no credit-card facilities or ATMs available in Tuvalu. The Tuvaluan dollar is not an independent currency, but a variation of the
Australian dollar The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Is ...
. Tuvalu began issuing its own coins in 1976, which circulate alongside Australian coins, and Tuvalu continues to use Australian banknotes.


Establishment

The NBT was established as a corporate body under the National Bank of Tuvalu 1980 as a subsidiary of
Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...
. In 1985, it became a joint venture between the
government of Tuvalu The politics of Tuvalu takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, whereby the Monarch is the head of state, represented by the Governor-General, while the Prime Minister is the head of government. Ex ...
, which held 60% of the shares, and
Westpac Westpac Banking Corporation, known simply as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney, New South Wales. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, ...
, which held the remaining 40%. In 1995, the government acquired Westpac's shares. The headquarters of the NBT are at Vaiaku in
Funafuti Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people (2017 census), and so it has more people than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with approximately 60% of the population. It consists of a narrow sweep of lan ...
, and agencies are operated on all eight outer islands.


Constitution

The National Bank of Tuvalu 1980 states that “the Bank shall act in accordance with any policy directions in the national interest given to it from time to time in writing by the Minister f Finance��. NBT has a board of directors consisting of the secretary for finance and four others (excluding members of Parliament) appointed by the minister for periods determined by the minister. The board is required “to ensure that Bank policy is directed towards the national interest and has due regard to the stability and balanced development of the economy of Tuvalu.” The board appoints a general manager for a term of up to 5 years. The general manager must attend board meetings but has no voting rights.


Operations

In 2001 the NBT employed two managers (finance and administration, and lending and operations) and 38 officers, clerks, and tellers. In 2009 staff levels of the NBT were 45 employees. The TNB’s deposit rates are low by regional standards, and lending rates are the same or above the rates charged in more competitive banking systems. Between 1990 and 2000 the NBT operated profitably, returning an average 58.3% on net assets before tax and contributing an annual average of $507,000 in company tax and dividends to the government. Earnings on foreign exchange transactions are a major source of income. In 2001 loans and advances were around 28% of total deposits, reflecting the limited opportunities for domestic lending and conservative reserves management. The level of operations in the first quarter of 2001 resulted in A$1.2 million in new lending: 58% of personal loans were for family commitments, including funeral, wedding, and birthday expenses; 29% for travelling; and 11% for education; with the remaining 2% being advances to seamen. The NBT has maintained its profitable as of 2008. A review by the
Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field of ...
, related to an ADB facility for the government of Tuvalu recommended that the NBT implementation prudent fiscal discipline to improve liquidity. The changes including the repayment by the government of Tuvalu of an overdraft of around A$5 million in respect of which the bank has a foregone interest of approximately A$500,000 per year. Tuvalu joined the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
(IMF) on 24 June 2010. The IMF 2014 Country Report noted the NBT had restricted its exposure to public enterprises and made substantial provisions in relation to debtors. Effective of 7 October 2016, Tuvalu accepted the Article VIII obligations of the IMF Articles of Agreement, to maintaining an exchange system free of restrictions on payments for international transactions. In April 2020, the NBT lost its corresponding banking relationship (CBR) with Australian banks, which inhibits the flow of remittances and foreign exchange transactions. Although the NBT continues to have a CBR with the
Bank of Hawaii The Bank of Hawaii Corporation ( haw, Panakō o Hawaii; abbreviated BOH) is a regional commercial bank headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is Hawaii's second oldest bank and its largest locally owned bank in that the majority of the voting ...
and has developed a CBR with the BRED Bank Fiji.


Other financial institutions in Tuvalu

Loans are available from the Tuvalu National Provident Fund (TNPF), which is owned by its members and has the legal form as a mutual fund rather than a body corporate owned by shareholders. The TNPF invests social contributions from slightly more than half the country’s population, with payments from the TNPF made on retirement. The Development Bank of Tuvalu (DBT), which began in 1993, is also owned by the government of Tuvalu. The DBT provides development loans. The IMF 2014 Country Report also noted the DBT had made substantial provisions in relation to debtors.


See also

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References

{{Tuvalu topics Economy of Tuvalu Organizations based in Tuvalu 1980 establishments in Tuvalu