User-friendly banking for poor urged

By ALPHONSE BARIASI
MINISTER for Information and Communication Jimmy Miringtoro has called for banking to be made a lot more user-friendly to both urban and rural people.
Speaking during the opening of the Arawa branch of Bank South Pacific on Tuesday, Miringtoro, who is MP for Central Bougainville, appealed to BSP to consider making lending services affordable to the local borrowers.
Miringtoro said the bank should consider categorising its borrowers into low, middle and higher income or business borrowers and set lending conditions that would make banking more affordable and user-friendly to all.
He, however, was thankful to BSP for being the first financial institution to re-enter Bougainville – first in opening its Buka branch, and now the Arawa branch.
He said he had played a part in “more ways than one” to get BSP back into Arawa.
“Thank you to BSP for your confidence in Central Bougainville,” Miringtoro said.
The bank, being the first to venture into this part of the mainland Bougainville, is doing so at great risk as there is as yet no insurance cover for business there except for those on Buka Island
BSP group chief executive officer, Ian Clyne, said it had been a very difficult decision for the bank but after meetings with Bougainville leaders, it also considered service provision for the people of Central and South Bougainville.
Besides, Clyne said, there was a big potential for business in the region.
Business activity in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville at the moment is largely driven by agricultural commodities such as cocoa and copra.
After the end of the Bougainville Crisis, through the involvement of donor agencies such as AusAid, New Zealand and Japanese governments, government services were established and businesses followed suit.
Dekenai Construction is currently working on the Arawa town roads.
PNG Power has been providing electricity in town for some time and local businesses and others from outside of Bougainville are also seeing signs of growth. 
The Japanese government helped with the construction of 15 vital bridges on the main highway linking Buka to Arawa and Buin.
The opening of the bank branch was widely welcomed by Bougainvillians.
 welcome sight not only for the businesses in Central Bougainville,  but especially for the public servants and villagers,  who used to spend K200 or K100 just on PMV fares to Buka and back for banking.
Many openly expressed their gratitude and relief, and some even shed tears when they were able to do banking again in their home town after 23 years.
BSP is the first financial institution to enter Arawa. 
Through its subsidiary, BSP Rural, it also provides services such as small deposits and withdrawals for people in Buin and Wakunai.