BSP continues to support businesses: Fleming

BANK South Pacific (BSP) will continue to support businesses in Papua New Guinea, says chief executive Robin Fleming.
Speaking at the launch of BSP Finance, PNG’s new consumer vehicle loan product, last Friday, he said this year had been about Covid-19 which had seen most banks and business rearrange their business strategies.
“BSP continues to do what we can to continue to support business in PNG,” Fleming said. “We reduced the variable rate loan product across every product by one per cent on the first of April which did come at some cost do the BSP profit and loss.
“That was part of our commitment to ensuring that businesses are somewhat better placed to deal with more difficult economic conditions.
“We have also been actively promoting our BSP Life Wantok product. Again another product which provides some future savings capabilities for many employees, salary and wage earners, self-employed people all around PNG.
“We are also going to pay our interim dividend in about two weeks’ time which is a reward to our shareholders in respect to the profit that we generated in the first six months.
“We are out there opening 10,000 accounts a month at every one of our branches and sub-branches around PNG and that’s part of the social commitment to BSP as a bank.
“BSP continues to provide lending to its customers. Our total lending has grown for the first six months and for the first nine months.”
Fleming said with the signing of agreements between the bank and the Government for the funding allocation for businesses, it could start supporting SMEs and small corporate businesses as soon as it received the money.