Nambawan Savings & Loan Society pays 5% interest for members

By CYRIL GARE

More than 66,000 active members of the Nambawan Savings and Loans Society (NSLS) will receive a 5 % interest on their savings paid directly into their accounts on Monday – 11 May 2026.

The NSLS Board said today they were pleased to announce an interest crediting rate of 5% for the 2025 financial year.

“The interest will be credited to all active member accounts across all savings products by Monday May 11, 2026. This includes the Society’s “special purpose” long-term savings products: Pikinini, Tertiary and Housing accounts, ” the Board posted on their Facebook page hours ago.

NSLS Chief Executive Officer, Mr. John Solok said in a WhatsApp message this evening:

“We have been crediting our Members since 2023 between 3 – 5%. For 2025 financial performance, announced today is 5%. For 2024 financial year performance, 5% was also interest on savings that was credited.

“In 2025, we made K8.5 million profit. In 2024, we made K7.5 million.”

The financial sector reforms between 1995 and 2000, initiated by the Skate Government and accelerated by the late Sir Mekere Morauta, are the most significant economic restructurings in PNG’s history.

These reforms transitioned PNG from a politically directed system to a regulated, market-driven economy with a thriving PNG financial market is valued at approximately K70 billion. Key players in the current growing financial landscape includes, Commercial banks, Licensed financial institutions (LFIs), Savings and Loan Societies (SLSs), Cooperative societies (CSs), Microfinance institutions such as MiBank, Women’s Micro Bank (Mama Bank), and Peoples Micro Bank.

Super funds: Nasfund manages around K8.92 billion while Nambawan Super manages K12 billion, total around K20.92 billion of national financial grid.

Nasfund Contributors SLS, the largest society by membership, holding a significant portion of the sector’s total value exceeding K300 million in net assets alone.

The NSLS exemplifies the success of the Grand Reform. Under a dynamic board made up of professional independent directors and CEO, John Solok, the institution has seen a 20 per cent year on year membership growth, reaching 66,300 members and a net profit of K7.5 million in 2024 and expected to double this in 2025.

Solok, who has a Bachelor of Business Economics, from UPNG and Master in Business Administration (MBA) from Divine Word University, has pushed aggressively for expanding membership beyond the traditional Nambawan Super members to include private-sector employees, the informal sector, notable is the NBPOL oil palm growers’ membership.

He is focusing on a growing young female membership and involvement of micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs) onto the NSLS

grid.

“Our focus is on transforming NSLS to become clearly the No.1 savings and loans society, focusing on Nambawan Super members, and

emerging sectors.

“Apart from being the fastest growing savings and loan society, we have a strong membership of a young population, 44 per cent are under the age of 35 which we work hard on for. Saving the young and females into financial inclusivity is critical to a robust financial sector, especially when PNG has a bulging youth population.

“Female membership at 43 per cent is also high…the last five years of encouraging female in saving culture is great, given only around 33 per cent of females have bank accounts or in formal employment”.

Solok initiated “saving the savers” to acquire smaller, struggling SLSs to ensure that no grassroots capital is lost to maladministration, “with strong intent around responsible finance, saving culture for purpose Prior to joining NSLS, Solok held roles as a consultant for the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) and held leadership positions at ANZ Pacific and British American Tobacco.

At NSLS, he introduced the “LEAD” precursor for performance:

• Leadership: Lead through

• shared vision, mission and values.

• Enablement: Right tools, systems and process.

• Alignment: Commitment to corporate goals.

• Development: Focus on building a highly competent team.

“Employer engagement’ is paramount, Solok says. Engaging with staff is key to achieving high performance results for a successful business.”

Going forward, Solok says: “We have experience in the payroll sector. Transiting to “non payroll sector” (informal employment members) is a new experience, and has a lot of risk too. Our big task now is to educate our members to “save with purpose”.

“With available technology and use of AI, we are confident to sail through, adding that “Part of re-engineering will be the move more into member-centric banking platform, more digital.”