The Reserve Bank of Fiji has announced a net profit of $135.2 million as of July 31, 2024. During a Cheque Handover event, RBF Governor Ariff Ali revealed that the total transfer to the Government amounts to $136,231,255.80, which also includes one-fifth of the bank’s revaluation reserves, in accordance with the RBF Act.
Ali explained that the RBF is required by the Act to submit its financial reports three months following the end of the financial year. However, with the Board’s and the accountant’s approval, the financial accounts have been finalized earlier.
He noted that by providing the funds to the Government at this time instead of at the end of October, the Government could save $750,000 in interest. Over the past two years, the RBF has contributed a total of $240 million in profit to the Government, which represents about two percent of Fiji’s Gross Domestic Product, helping to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio by another two percent.
In the last decade, the RBF has contributed over $500 million to the Government, and since its establishment, it has provided nearly $1 billion in accumulated profits. The Governor emphasized that if the Central Bank had not provided these profits, the debt-to-GDP ratio would be 10 percent higher. He also pointed out that the RBF is the only statutory body that consistently transfers its profits to the Government.