By Meriba Tulo – EMTV News, Port Moresby
With the announcement of their acquisition of ANZ Bank’s retail, Commercial and SME business in PNG, Kina Bank has made known their intentions to continue growth.
Kina Bank CEO, Greg Pawson, has indicated that they are serious in expanding their reach in Papua New Guinea through this acquisition.
Following the announcement of Kina Bank’s acquisition of ANZ PNG’s Retail, Commercial and SME business in PNG, heads of both banks spoke to the media yesterday.
For Kina Bank CEO, Greg Pawson, the acquisition was ideal as it fit well into Kina’s push to increase its presence in the country.
The deal, pending regulatory approval, may end up being finalised in Q3 2019.
According to Mr Pawson, one of the most immediate effects is the increased footprint that Kina Bank will now have in the retail banking market – effectively becoming the second largest bank in PNG.
It also provides an avenue for the new-look Kina Bank to focus on improving services through technology, especially in rural areas of the country.
At present, ANZ has its digital platform, Go-Money. According to Pawson, Kina will build on this service to expand its reach as well.
The race to bank the unbanked is in line with targets set by the Bank of PNG to bank at least 2 million unbanked Papua New Guineans by the Year 2020 – a target that is reachable if the proper technology is utilised.
