Central Bank of Samoa

The CBS said the March 2023 banking crises in the USA that has seen the collapse of two of its major regional banks and lenders with ties to the technological start-up industry (the Silicon Valley Bank and the Signature Bank) as well as the winding down of operations of crypto-focused Silvergate Bank have no direct impact on Samoa’s banking system to date.

Similarly, the four licensed commercial banks (2 local banks and 2 foreign subsidiary banks) in Samoa have no direct banking relationships with the failed Credit Suisse Bank in Switzerland, CBS said in a statement.

However, the inflation rate dropped to 11 per cent in December 2022.

This was highlighted in a statement on “The Central Bank Of Samoa Continues Its Accommodative Monetary Policy Stance For The Rest Of FY2022/2023.”

According to the statement, imported (prices) inflation has started to ease so far given the aggressive monetary tightening by advanced economies around the world, however domestic inflation is rising steadily and yet to peak.

The Samoa Observer reports this was highlighted in the Central Bank of Samoa "Visitor Earnings & Remittances Report" for December.

The report recorded a 36 percent or 21 million tālā increase to 79 million tālā compared to December 2020.

The report says that despite the effects of Covid-19 on Samoa's main source markets for remittances, increases during this period were still recorded from New Zealand increasing by 9 million tālā, Australia up also by 9 million, United States by 2 million and American Samoa up by 2 million.

According to the IMF’s July 2021 World Economic Outlook (WEO), the global economy is expected to grow by 6.0 percent in 2021 with a smaller growth of 4.9 percent in 2022.

This positive outlook is based on strong growth expected for major economies like the US, China and Euro zone as easing of national lockdowns and international border restrictions are expected to spur economic activity. For the year 2021/22, the IMF is forecasting a 5.45 percent global growth.

The warning comes after the bank received a report of people involved in gifting and re-gifting money in a suspected pyramid scheme

Samoa's Central Bank has issued a warning to local pyramid scheme operators that they face criminal charges if caught by a Financial Intelligence Division investigation.

The warning comes after the bank received a report of people involved in gifting and re-gifting money in a suspected pyramid scheme.

And the CBS is expecting this to be much larger than the adverse effects of the 2019 measles outbreak on the Samoan economy.

According to the Central Bank of Samoa, the trickle-down adverse effects of the COVID-19 through the cessation of the tourism activities and the adverse impact on the associated support services has substantial implications on the broader economy and the general public.

The probe follows revelations by the Central Bank of Samoa on Thursday that the cryptocurrency OneCoin had "compromised" Samoa's financial system.

Citing a report it was handed by New Zealand police, the Central Bank said OneCoin - also known as OneLife - had used two Samoan churches with branches in New Zealand and Australia to funnel millions of dollars into Samoa.

The Central Bank's acting-governor, Gilbert Wongsin, told RNZ Pacific on Tuesday there were active investigations into the Samoa Worship Centre and the Samoan Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church.

The European Commission said last week it had been added to a list of 21 countries which had strategic deficiencies for dealing with suspicious money flows.

But on Thursday, the Central Bank stressed the list has to go before the European Parliament for a vote before it is official.

It said there were flaws in the process, including limited information and warning from the EU, and no opportunity to respond.

The criticisms echo those of the US Treasury Department last week, which rejected the inclusion of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

In a statement, the Central Bank points out the scheme, which started back in 2009, is not legal tender in Samoa.

The Bank warns that Bitcoin, Onecoin, Lifecoin and other such schemes are not secured and people investing in them run the risk of losing everything they invest.

Meanwhile the government also announced an increase in the cost of fossil fuel for the second month in a row.

Unleaded gas is up by 6 sene to $2.85 a litre and diesel engine motorists will pay $2.88 sene per litre.

Latest data from the Central Bank of Samoa puts our GDP at close to $1.9 billion tala, which means that the STA must increase its revenue earning capacity by almost three times from its present annual tourism earnings of $350 million tala a year to close to $1 billion tala a year.

“While it may sound improbable and very ambitious, I am a firm believer that anything is possible,” says new Tourism Minister Lautafi Fio Selafi Purcell in his speech to STA employees during a welcoming event hosted in his honour as the new Minister for the Tourism Sector.