Bank of St. Helena
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The Bank of St. Helena is a commercial bank based on the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, also operating in the dependent territory of Ascension Island.
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[edit] Services
The Bank offers both current and savings accounts to personal customers, as well as business banking from two offices in Jamestown, Saint Helena, and Georgetown, Ascension Island.
The Bank also offers services to tourists and others visiting Saint Helena and Ascension Island. These include currency exchange, encashment of Traveller's Cheques and providing cash advances on selected Credit/Debit Cards.
The Bank maintains a relationship with Lloyds TSB Bank, allowing its customers to use their banking network for United Kingdom and international money transmission.
Current details of the bank's services are available on its website.
[edit] Banking on St. Helena
Bank of St. Helena is the island's only bank. Also the island does not have a central bank. This means that, in effect, the island's interest rates are set by Bank of St. Helena, a commercial bank, instead of by the government or a central bank.
Despite the above, Bank of St. Helena does not issue the island's banknotes and coins. These are issued by the Currency Commissioners, part of the Government of St. Helena.
[edit] History
The Bank was formed on April 1, 2004, by the Banking Ordinance 2003 and the Bank of St. Helena Ordinance 2003. The Bank inherited the assets and liabilties of the Government Savings Bank (in St. Helena) and the Ascension Island Savings Bank.
The bank's first Manager was Richard Winch. The full list of Managers is as follows:
| Richard Winch | April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2005 |
| John Turner | April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2008 |
| Rosemary Bargo | April 1, 2008 to date |
[edit] Financial
The bank has a balance sheet of around SHP 33 million. Lending accounts for SHP 5.4 million, and SHP 24.5 million is invested in UK Gilts. (2006/2007 figures)
The bank operates as a mutual institution, so does not distribute dividends. Post-tax profits are taken into reserves and used to fund future investment.
