At the request of the Secretary of Finance of the Cook Islands, the Public Financial Technical Assistance Centre (PFTAC) of the International Monetary Fund arranged a technical assistance mission to visit Rarotonga from June 2 to June 12, 2012 to provide advice on design options for a Sovereign Wealth Fund and a Loan Repayment Fund. The mission was staffed by Dick Emery (IMF-funded consultant), formerly the senior civil servant of the United States Office of Management and Budget, and an advisor with experience in a number of developing nations.

Download the full report here PFM_Cooks_WFund_Sept2012.pdf831.07 KB

The Government recently commissioned Sam Knowles to undertake a review of the Cook Islands Banking system.

The objective in undertaking the review was to define a long term strategy for the provision of banking services for the Cook Islands economy that will on a sustained basis:

•    lower the cost of banking for businesses operating in the Cook islands;
•    improve the accessibility to banking by Cook Islands businesses and residents;
•    provide the banking services necessary to support the major growth sectors of the economy; and
•    minimise the need for Government financial support to achieve the above.