The Development Bank of Kiribati (DBK) was established by the Development Bank of Kiribati Act 1986 and came into operation on 01 August 1987. Wholly owned by the Kiribati Government, DBK operates autonomously under the direction of a Board of Directors appointed by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development. The Board comprises 3 members of the Public Sector and 4 from the Private Sector which complies with the SOE Act 2013. The Chief Executive Officer manages the day-to-day operations supported on the ground by 37 staff at the main office in Tarawa, a 3-man branch on Kiritimati and a resident Agent on 15 outer islands.
DBK performance for 2019 was generally satisfactory. Financial performance continued to improve while loan disbursement targets met for most part of the year. In addition, performance is also marred by the Bank's inability to attain targeted arrears rate, level of past due and hardcore loans. Even though, these targets were not met, a declining trend is again noted this year for past due and hardcore loans. In considering this performance, it is obvious that the Bank maintains its priorities as for 2019 but further review is required to adjust ongoing operations and rethink planned strategies and activities.
In our view, critical operational charges need to be made in response to the latest market trends and socio-economic-political environment shaped by Government and donor decisions and support so far in order for us to satisfy our long-term objectives and priorities. The more relevant of these relate to:
- - DBK's mandate - development banking versus commercialization
- - Competition in Social development loans or personal lending
- - ANZ's monopoly in retail banking
- - Undercapitalisation of DBK
- - KPF Investment funds
- - Lack of formal risk assessment and management systems
Objectives:
- - Make affordable and quality banking services and products accessible to all I-Kiribati people
- - Boost economic growth, raising standards of living and employment opportunities and;
- - Increase profitability
Loan Plus 1 system - An online system created especially for lending institutions such as development banks, money lenders, and savings and loans schemes. LoanPlus1 caters to all types of loans, whether it has a simple interest rate or a compound/reducing balance interest rate. It is one of the main tool at DBK to serve clients for lending services. The Custom Software Development Agreement between DBK and Infinity Plus One was signed on the 7th July 2016. The System was launched on Wednesday, 9th August 2017 and have since been used until now.
