Bank of South Pacific

Bank South Pacific Limited

Type	Public
Traded as	PoMSOX:BSP
Industry	Financial services
Founded	1957
Headquarters	Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Area served	Papua New Guinea Fiji Solomon Islands Samoa Tonga Cook Islands
Key people	Robin Fleming (CEO) Kostas Constantinou (Chairman)
Products	Banking, financial and related services
Revenue	K1.67 billion PGK (2014)
Profit	K507.34 million PGK (2014)
Number of employees	3,000 full time equivalent
Website	www.bsp.com.pg

Bank South Pacific (or BSP) is the largest bank in Papua New Guinea, with 35 branches throughout the country and in 6 countries. BSP currently services over 650,000 business banking customers throughout the Pacific. As at 31 December 2014, BSP had total assets valued at K15.8 billion. Bank South Pacific is listed on the .

BSP traces its history to 1 May 1957 when the National Bank of Australasia established a branch in Port Moresby. As independence approached for Papua New Guinea (PNG), the incoming government made known its desire that all banks in PNG be locally incorporated, rather than branches of a foreign parent. Bank of Papua New Guinea, the country's central bank, was established in 1973. The National Australia Bank (NAB) incorporated its operations in PNG in 1974. Then the government encouraged the bank to sell equity to local citizens. BSP conducted public offerings in 1980 and 1981, with the result that local citizens came to hold 13% of the bank's shares. Later, the government decided to acquire control of BSP. In 1993, National Investment Holdings Limited (NIHL) first acquired NAB’s 87% shareholding, and then the 13% of the shares in the hands of the public, giving it 100% ownership of BSP. In 1995 the government decided to increase the bank's capital base, which it achieved by selling a 25% stake to Credit Corporation (PNG) and a 22% stake to Motor Vehicles Insurance (PNG) Trust (now incorporated as Motor Vehicles Insurance Limited).

In 1916, Commonwealth Bank, the Australian government-owned bank, established a branch in Rabaul and agencies in other towns, to support the banking needs of the Australian Army and its troops who had taken control of the former German colony of New Guinea. In time, this operation became a full-fledged commercial banking operation. Then in 1974, Commonwealth Bank withdrew from PNG by transferring its operations to the new government, which gave the bank the name "Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation" (PNGBC). In 2002, PNGBC ran into problems, and BSP acquired the government’s 49% stake in PNGBC in return for the government taking a 25% stake in BSP. Between 2002 and 2008 BSP and PNGBC merged the operations.