Govt unveils $6.3m package to boost Pacific banking services
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The news: The Albanese government has announced it will provide $6.3 million to help prevent the loss of banking services in the Pacific.
The numbers: The funding package includes $2.9 million for the World Bank to support the development of inclusive and secure digital identity infrastructure across Pacific island countries.
It also comprises of $1.7 million for the Asian Development Bank to enhance regional compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing requirements, and $1.7 million for the Attorney-General’s department to assist with criminal justice and law enforcement capacity in the region.
In total, the federal government will increase Australian development support provided to the Pacific from $1.9 billion in 2023-24 to $2 billion in 2024-25.
The context: The boost in funding comes as the government partners with the Biden Administration to deliver the Pacific Banking Forum in Brisbane. The two-day conference for world leaders is designed to address the decline of correspondent banking relationships in the Pacific.
In a joint release, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy and Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones said the Pacific had been "acutely affected" by the global trend of financial institutions reducing or withdrawing banking services, with the fastest withdrawal of correspondent banking relationships anywhere in the world.
What they said: "We want to arrest and reverse the decline in services. Alleviate the immediate pressure on local financial systems. And attract new private capital into Pacific markets," Chalmers will say in an address to the forum on Tuesday.
"Our strategy is to build more resilient banking infrastructure, bolster its integrity and boost private sector investment.
"... Preventing the loss of banking services in the Pacific is vital to the safety, security and economic development of our region."
The source: Treasury media release
