After over 42 years as finance company in Papua New Guinea, Credit Corporation (PNG) Ltd is planning to apply for a banking licence this year. CEO Danny Robinson explains why to Business Advantage PNG in this exclusive interview.

Credit House in Port Moresby Credit: Credit Corporation

Credit Corporation (PNG) Ltd, one of PNG’s longest-established finance companies, is entering 2022 in good shape and with a renewed purpose, according to Danny Robinson, who was confirmed as the company’s CEO in September 2021, after six months acting in the role.

In September 2021, the company announced half-year profits had risen by 12 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2020, led by stronger finance business and steady returns from its investments. On the downside, it was impacted by lower occupancy in its residential property portfolio.

‘On the PNG front, the business has performed well,’ Robinson tells Business Advantage PNG. ‘We’ve seen things starting to turn around in terms of the finance business.’

Barometer

Credit Corporation’s Danny Robinson

The company’s finance division has a focus on equipment and vehicle finance – a barometer of economic activity in a country like PNG.

‘What we’re seeing is middle market and high net worth individuals who have employment and have jobs are looking to upgrade motor vehicles and other things of that nature. So that’s just a sign of a reasonably healthy environment,’ Robinson observes, while noting that the COVID-19 global pandemic is causing supply issues for vehicle deliveries.

Credit Corporation’s businesses elsewhere in the Pacific had a tougher 2021 but are now also showing signs of recovery.

‘Offshore jurisdictions such as Fiji, Vanuatu and the Solomons have been significantly impacted with COVID … We were unsure about the future of Fiji, but we’re probably a lot more positive now that, with a high vaccination rate, business confidence is starting to turn,’ he says.

Bank licence

On the back of a more positive financial performance, Robinson is now focused on taking Credit Corporation into new territory.

‘Our board have signed off on us becoming a licensed bank,’ he reveals.

‘Credit Corporation’s been lending for 42 years in PNG. And the board of directors and senior management have an understanding of the PNG market and what works.’

Currently, PNG only has four licensed banks—BSP, Kina Bank, Westpac and ANZ. That number almost became three in 2021, when Kina Bank unsuccessfully tried to acquire Westpac’s Pacific assets, in a deal ultimately rejected by PNG’s Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC).

Credit Corporation, which holds seven per cent of BSP’s shares, was a bidder for the Westpac business itself. It was also one of several organisations that opposed Kina’s Westpac buyout in its submission to the ICCC on the grounds that it would create a duopoly.

Transition

Now, it has decided to add to the competition in the banking sector by joining the fray itself.

‘I believe the SMEs, the commercial customers and the high net worth individuals have been ignored,’ notes Robinson.

‘What we’ve done really well in the past is we’ve banked the unbankable customer who is starting up a business but has been unable to get finance.

‘We’ve been able to support those people with equipment finance-type transactions and we’ve seen those businesses succeed.’

Typically, however, that is when those customers move on to a relationship with a bank, which represents a lost opportunity for Credit Corporation.

Natural progression

‘The natural progression for us is to continue to support start-ups through our typical finance products. But then, when they’re in a position to borrow larger amounts, or for longer terms, and can provide security, we can offer them a more holistic financial services package which would be similar to what the banks are providing,’ says Robinson.

‘Credit Corporation’s been lending for 42 years in PNG. And the board of directors and senior management have an understanding of the PNG market and what works.’

Robinson suggests that Credit Corporation’s property portfolio could be sold to fund the transition into a bank, including capital adequacy requirements.

He is hopeful the transition, which is subject to regulatory approvals, won’t take too long.

‘We would definitely look to have the banking license in place by the end of 2022,’ he tells Business Advantage PNG. ‘And then we’d be out in the market with a product offering and being able to target new customers.’