Results for National Reserve Bank of Tonga

PUBLIC NOTICE: To regulate and supervise non-bank financial institutions, the National Reserve Bank of Tonga developed the Moneylenders Act 2018. This Act was proclaimed by Cabinet to come into force on 30th September 2020, and a Gazette notice has been publicly posted and published on the Reserve Bank’s website and Facebook page. The Reserve Bank is requesting that those moneylenders listed in the following Table below please contact the Reserve Bank as soon as possible to apply for a moneylender license. For more information in English and Tongan ... Lao ki hono Tokanga’i mo Pule’i ‘o e Ngaahi Kautaha Nō atu ‘o e Pa’anga ‘i Tonga΄ ...

Tonga’s National Reserve Bank on July 1 2020 declared that Tonga’s economy would remain contracted during the current Fiscal Year due to the negative impacts of Cyclone Harold and the continuing COVID-19 restriction.

Tonga’s Official Foreign Reserve held by the National Reserve Bank was $457.5 million at the end of March, equivalent to 6.8 months of imports.

Are you affected by the Foreign Exchange Control Act of 2018? This is a question we should all ask.... Even if this Act was intended to stifle foreign investment in Tonga, why put the severe restrictions on what the residents of Tonga can or cannot do with their money? - Dean Bishoprick

The National Reserve Bank of Tonga aims at securing Tonga’s Foreign Reserves at a level of about $457.3 million, equivalent to more than seven months of imports, with the enforcement of the Foreign Exchange Control Act 2018 on 1 November. The Act requires Tongan exporters to repatriate at least 60% of their export proceeds. And, if the economy fails and the foreign reserves drop below the threshold, - then the Act gives the government the right to try and force Tongans who have invested overseas to repatriate their funds to Tonga. The Act was passed at the time Tonga expected to start repaying its loans to China.

The Supreme Court of Tonga has upheld a decision of the National Reserve Bank of Tonga to revoke the banking licence of the Pacific International Commercial Bank Ltd. Lord Chief Justice O. G. Paulsen in the Supreme Court of Tonga, on 5 July 2018 dismissed a claim by the PICB bank whose shareholders include HRH Princess Pilolevu. The bank's reported accumulated losses exceeded TOP$4.5million, causing reserve bank concerns that PICB was conducting unsafe and unsound banking operations.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a preliminary statement this week that Tonga’s “economic activity is expanding and likely to remain relatively strong into the next couple of years”. However, the IMF found that there was a lack of recent statistical information available such as government finance, inflation, balance of payments, and national accounts data for their assessment of economic development.

The Pacific International Commercial Bank (PICB) is challenging last week’s decision made by Tonga’s National Reserve Bank to shut it down. “We will urgently take legal action against the National Reserve Bank of Tonga for the cancellation of our operating license,” said Mishka Tu'ifua, General Manager and Director of PICB today, 2 August.

The Pacific International Commercial Bank (PICB), a Chinese-Tongan venture had its license revoked by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga Board of Directors on Tuesday, 26 July. The bank when opened two years ago had a board of six people, four from China and two from Tonga.