Bank of Papua New Guinea

The Bank of Papua New Guinea is a corporate entity which was first established under the Central Banking Act, Chapter 138 (repealed) in 1973. It started operations on 1 November 1973 as the country’s Central Bank. The primary objective of the Central Bank then was as provided for in that Act as follows:

“The Central Bank shall, within the limits of its powers, ensure that its monetary and banking policy is directed to the greatest advantage to the people of Papua New Guinea, and direct its efforts to promoting monetary stability and a sound and efficient financial structure.”

Prior to its establishment, the Bank of Papua New Guinea was a branch of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in the then Territory of Papua and New Guinea. In 1971, the Select Committee on Constitutional Development established a Committee on Banking, which recommended a blueprint for the establishment of an independent banking system framework.

Prior to and in anticipation of self-government and independence,the Government then first mooted the idea of introducing a national currency in July 1973. The then government vested the responsibility for introduction of a national currency in a Currency Working Group comprising of Department of Finance and the Port Moresby branch of the RBA. The kina and toea were eventually introduced as our national currency in April 1975.

Since its inception the Bank has gone through a lot of changes to be where it is now. The Central Banking Act Chapter 138 was repealed and replaced by the Central Banking of 2000. The new Act was introduced basically to make the Central Bank independent from all other influences. Bank of PNG continues to strive to meet the international standards and practices in all aspects of central banking.