Bank South Pacific (BSP) has officially acquired Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac) in Solomon Islands.
The completion of the sale was done last week after both banks obtained necessary statutory, regulatory and third party approvals from the Central Bank of Solomon Islands.
The acquisition process started early this year, and in July, BSP acquired the Westpac operations in Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga.
BSP group chief executive officer Robin Fleming said that this acquisition was consistent with BSP’s Pacific based expansion strategy, which hds been maintained since 2006 when the bank acquired the Habib Bank in Fiji, National Bank of Solomon Islands in 2007 and the Colonial Groups of Companies (Banking & Life Businesses) in Fiji in 2009.
Mr Fleming assured customers that there would be minimal disruptions as BSP did not intend to make any disruptive changes. Minor changes to products and services will be communicated by BSP to customers, but there is unlikely to be any real change regarding interactions between customers and BSP.
“Our expansion into Solomon Island reinforces our vision to become the pre-eminent bank in PNG and the South Pacific and we are 100 percent committed to providing flexible, convenient everyday banking solutions for all our clients.”
BSP chairman Sir Kostas Constantinou said the bank was pleased to have this opportunity to increase its commitment to the Pacific.
“It is a regional strategy and we will continue to have a strong presence in the region for a very long time. BSP is living up to its name as the Bank of South Pacific.”