Directory of Nauru Banks, List of Private Banking Services Nauru

Nauru banking is a very commercial term that is related to the financial aspect of the island. Once upon a time Nauru had remained a very rich country in the world of developing countries with respect to the per capita income. The basic reason behind this was the large scale mining and export of phosphates which is abundant in this phosphate rock island. 

 

A major proportion of the country's funds were generated from the phosphates trade but with time there was a reduction in the funds due to wastage of investments and fraudulent financial activities. To get rid of this problem and to increase the funds Nauru established offshore banking. But the offshore banks were neither legal nor had any direct connection with the country's economy. 

 

The only major commercial bank in Nauru that is engaged in banking in Nauru is the Bank of Nauru which acts as the local community bank and simultaneously the central bank of the country. The bank of Nauru is owned and operated by the government. The bank was established by the Nauru banking act which also gave the bank its license to operate. 

 

Presently the banking in Nauru is not a smooth system as the Nauru bank is facing back logs in its functioning procedures due to problems arising in the Nauru government. In order to fill up the deficits of the government it has fallen back on the central bank taking away its currency holdings. Thus the bank of Nauru can neither deal with international transfers nor meet the demands for withdrawals made by the depositors. Such heavy dependence of the government on the bank has led to improper and defective banking in Nauru.

 

 

 

Information

 

Economy—overview: Revenues come from the export of phosphates the reserves of which are expected to be exhausted by the year 2000. Phosphates have given Nauruans one of the highest per capita incomes in the Third World but incomes probably will drop sharply in the future. Few other resources exist so most necessities must be imported including fresh water from Australia. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. Substantial amounts of phosphate income are invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition. However dividends from the trusts have declined sharply since 1990 and the government has been borrowing heavily from the trusts to finance fiscal deficits. In an effort to stem further escalation of fiscal problems the government has called for a freeze on wages for two years a reduction of over-staffed public service departments drastic cutbacks in hiring new government staff privatization of numerous government agencies and closure of some overseas consulates.

 

GDP: purchasing power parity—$100 million (1993 est.)

 

GDP—real growth rate: NA%

 

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$10 000 (1993 est.)

 

GDP—composition by sector:

 

agriculture: NA%

 

industry: NA%

 

services: NA%

 

Inflation rate—consumer price index: -3.6% (1993)

 

Labor force:

 

by occupation: employed in mining phosphates public administration education and transportation

 

Unemployment rate: 0%

 

Budget:

 

revenues: $23.4 million

 

expenditures: $64.8 million including capital expenditures of $NA (FY95/96)

 

Industries: phosphate mining financial services coconut products

 

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

 

Electricity—capacity: 10 000 kW (1995)

 

Electricity—production: 30 million kWh (1995)

 

Electricity—consumption per capita: 2 956 kWh (1995)

 

Agriculture—products: coconuts predominate

 

Exports:

 

total value: $25.3 million (f.o.b. 1991)

 

commodities: phosphates

 

partners: Australia NZ

 

Imports:

 

total value: $21.1 million (c.i.f. 1991)

 

commodities: food fuel manufactures building materials machinery

 

partners: Australia UK NZ Japan

 

Debt—external: $33.3 million

 

Economic aid:

 

recipient: ODA $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.)

 

Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents

 

Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1—1.5281 (January 1998) 1.3439 (1997) 1.2773 (1996) 1.3486 (1995) 1.3667 (1994) 1.4704 (1993)

 

Fiscal year: 1 July—30 June