Banks hail RBF’s microfinance policy

Some positives are expected out of the Reserve Bank’s recent policy move to encourage microfinance and align local banks to the financing of the sector, says John Cashmore, general manager of Westpac Fiji.

Cashmore, who is also chairman of the Association of Banks in Fiji, told FijiLive that the policy will encourage the development of small businesses in the country. 

“The Reserve Bank is now putting in place new regulations about Micro Finance.  Part of Micro Finance is micro-credit. It’s only a small part, it’s more about savings and encouraging businesses and small businesses to get going so I think there’s going to be some positives coming out of that over time,” he said.

“There will need to be some learning, financial literacy, how to get into business and everything so it’s pretty exciting. At Westpac, we’re looking at how we can help small businesses start and get involved and we’re about to announce some training courses in the next few months, so those initiatives will be there.”

Last week, Reserve Bank Governor had said in a statement that its plans to set up specialized Micro Finance centres for banks, as it had announced in April, will help steer the financial system towards potential growth areas. 

“With the commercial banks’ assurance to stringently apply specified lending guidelines on high priority sectors, the Reserve Bank will closely monitor developments in lending particularly for investment-related projects, export-oriented activities, local businesses and small and medium sized enterprises,” RBF governor Sada Reddy had said in the statement.

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