I'll do Lana at the area as well. Rather than we were processing manually, it takes most of their time, they concentrate on the TT salon.
It gives us room to move on from what we usually do in the branch.
Another benefit of using TT Online is documentation and confirmation. As soon as we process our TT Online transactions, the payment confirmation is available in real time, and we are able to send through to our suppliers before the close of business.
I think with FX Online, everyone's a winner. Our customers win because they don't have to go into a branch, they don't have to queue up. They can have seamless foreign exchange processing. From BSP's point of view, it frees up our front office staff to be dealing with customers directly rather than processing foreign exchange orders.
BSP: Shaping the Future of Banking in PNG.
They highlighted that it's much easier for them because they don't have to leave the office, not much paperwork needs to be transported around, and less effort for them on that part.
Our payments team started using BSP TT Online from April this year. The main advantage of using TT Online is the speed and efficiency of processing online transactions. Our team are able to receive booking references from the BSP treasury team, and we're able to process on the same date, and transactions were able to be debited and funds received by our suppliers on the same day.
A key component to the change that FX Online is bringing is it's segregating duties because previously FX sales officers and our managers as well had to vet documents and see the orders all the way through till the end with book deals. Now with this FX Online, there's a segregation of duties that allows a different team to look at documents. For us sales officers and our sales managers, to have more time to interact with our customers because we don't have to look at our documents every day. Less clerical, and from our point of view, it would be more—it is at this point more efficient.
Some of the benefits that we have experienced since the online payment came on board is it's been fast and easy, processing payments on time, and it also helped us to avoid queues at the bank. Receipts are able to be printed instantly as soon as payments are approved. It also saved us cost.
With the introduction of this Modernizing for Growth, we have seen a great impact with our staff, like not being pressured with TTs coming through to the branch for them to process. Also with the use of time to plan other areas as well. Rather than we were processing manually, they take most of their time, they concentrate on the TT salon.
It gives us room to move on from what we usually do in the branch.
Another benefit of using TT Online is documentation and confirmation. As soon as we process our TT Online transactions, the payment confirmation is available in real time, and we are able to send through to our suppliers before the close of business.
I think with FX Online, everyone's a winner. Our customers win because they don't have to go into a branch, they don't have to queue up. They can have seamless foreign exchange processing. From BSP's point of view, it frees up our front office staff to be dealing with customers directly rather than processing foreign exchange orders.
BSP: Shaping the Future of Banking in PNG.
This is a very exciting day for us. The Waterfront branch is our first digital new look Waterfront branch. Basically, this is part of our Modernizing for Growth strategy, where we are trying to implement ways and means where we can serve our customers better. In this branch, we will have our staff who have been trained to serve our customers in whatever needs the customers have, whether it's business banking, whether it's corporate, whether it's life insurance, retail account opening. It's all here. You will see the setting of the branch is such that our staff will be not behind the counter. They will be upfront meeting and greeting customers and serving their financial needs. Very excited with how this has worked out, and we look forward to expanding this approach, this concept to our other branches.
With the new role and with the new branch, I think it's the environment here. We are more open to customers here, and you can see the interaction with the customers. It's much more open, much more friendly, much more flexible, where customers can actually come out and they talk to us, and we can take on their query on board, and then we can settle it on spot. That's something that's a bonus for both the customers and the staff here.
With the Concierge app, with the customer queues, we can, as officers, we can pick out from the queue that which query we can even assist quicker, or those queries that can take longer, we can differentiate between them and we can assist from there.
I know that right now in all the branches, I've been filled with customers who are going for Visa cards, but here customers come in and they get their instant Visa card. I would want this to be rolled out to all our branches so that they could cut down the waiting time and give instant Visa card to all our customers. It goes well with the T3 device, the M-POS.
What I enjoyed the most was having our customers walking in every day with a smile on their face, admiring the new look for the branch. The difference with our main branches and with this branch, Waterfront branch here, is the main branches, they have counters. With this branch, it's much better because I can really get to stand with the customer, talk to the customer, and really understand what they're saying, and they understand what I'm saying, and I assist them. It's really a good feeling.
Most of the customers that I've encountered, they were really happy with the branch, the setting, and they have complimented the team because they see that the team is working faster to at least provide them the service.
There's something I really like about it.
The winds of change sweep far and wide through rivers, mountains where dreams reside. A thousand tribes, horizon seen, to Solaris, breathing. Life takes wing from forbidden lush to waves that soar our ocean nation destined to explore. We are BSP, championing just our country's freedom. We are BSP, together we rise in this fragrance hymn. We carry the fire we've grown. Brave winds and stars our destiny hold. We rise with the tide as true nature holds the rain. Our stories of the dreams yet skin and brain. We bring prayers from mountaintops to the ocean. We bring prayers to the. We are so close within our BSP, together we rise in this fragrance hymn. We carry the fire we've grown. We are BSP, championing just our country's freedom. We are BSP, together we rise in this fragrance hymn. We carry the fire we've grown.
Nabonabona. Good morning to all get there. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of BSP Financial Group, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to each and every one of you to our 2025 Annual General Meeting. It is truly a pleasure to see such a vibrant and enthusiastic gathering. Your presence is not only appreciated, it is valued. We also like to take this moment to acknowledge the traditional landowners, the Motu Koita people of the land on which we stand today, and pay our respects to the elders past and present. My name is Pereson Murray, and I have the pleasure of being your Master of Ceremony on today's important occasion. Before we move into formalities, your safety is our priority. Please join me in welcoming Ms.
Natasha Jerwai, the Operations Manager from the Hilton Hotel, to provide a brief safety overview in an event of an emergency.
Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and we welcome you to Hilton Hotel's Kotobu Convention Center for our safety brief this morning. Firstly, should there be a fire or emergency in the Kotobu Convention Center, there will definitely or certainly be an alarm that will sound and a voiceover advising all of us to evacuate the building immediately. Should that happen, please do not panic, do not use the lifts, and do not use the escalators. My team and I will be available to direct you out of the exit doors safely. Above each door in the banquet hall or behind you, you will notice exit signs. Should the lights go off, there will be emergency lights in the building to give you direction out of the building. Our primary master point is located at the new retail area that is past the Hilton Residence building, just opposite this convention center.
Our secondary master point is when you enter into the hotel, the roundabout, and just in front of the hotel's reception area and the car park on your right-hand side. Restrooms, the banquet halls, are located on your left-hand side when you walk out the doors of the hall. Chewing of betel nut and smoking is prohibited in the convention center, although we have a smoking area located outside when you walk out and the glass doors. Outside the glass doors, if you see any bins, you can have a smoke next to the bins. Should anyone have any dietary requirements, as we will be catering for your lunch after this meeting, please do feel free to advise my team and myself. Thank you, and you have a good day.
Thank you, Natasha, for these important reminders. I'd also like to take this moment to remind everyone to put your phones to silence as we begin proceedings. Let us take a moment to center ourselves and invite guidance and blessing upon today's proceedings. I would like to call upon priscilla paissat , our Head of Procurement, to lead us in an opening prayer.
Please join with me as we pray and commit our proceedings for this morning. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, as we come before Your presence this morning, we come with reverence. We pray and ask Father God that You'll lead and guide us through this morning's AGM meeting. We pray for our Board of Directors, our Directors of our Pacific subsidiaries, our executive and senior team, and we also pray, most importantly, for our shareholders. Heavenly Father, we pray for peace, and we also pray for Your wisdom, and we invite Your presence to be with us here. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Thank you, Priscilla, for that heartfelt prayer. Now, it is my honor to introduce someone who continues to lead BSP with purpose, resilience, and a vision to champion prosperity across the South Pacific. Please join me in warmly welcoming our Group Chairman, Mr.Robert Bradshaw , to deliver the opening address. Let's give him a round of applause.
Thank you. I think you left it to Lori. That's all right. That's the problem with being short. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, Pereson, and thank you, Priscilla, for the prayers. Good to see everyone back here for another general meeting. Lots of familiar faces, lots of new faces as well. It's my pleasure to welcome you all to the 2025 Annual General Meeting of BSP Financial Group Limited. I'd like to extend a warm greeting to my fellow Board Directors. They're all lined up here. Directors of our Pacific subsidiaries. With the subsidiaries in the Pacific, we have directors attending this AGM as well. They had an interesting session yesterday with the Executive Management Team that they look at around the head office and see how things are done here in Papua New Guinea. We have reps from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu.
A warm welcome to them. Of course, the most important people today, our valued shareholders. Thank you for taking the time to attend. Over the past four months, BSP has continued to strengthen its leadership position across the South Pacific while laying the foundations for a more modern, agile, and customer-centric organization. In so doing, we have delivered robust financial results for 2024, continued to transform our operations, and reinforced our deep connection to the communities we serve. BSP's 2024 performance delivered not only strong operational results but also exceptional returns to our shareholders. That's the most important thing. We declared a total dividend of PGK 1.66 per share, a 16% increase on the prior year. Over PGK 776 million was returned to shareholders, representing a 75% payout ratio.
Earnings per share rose by 17%, underpinned by a 10% increase in underlying net profit after tax and a strong NPAT of over PGK 1 billion. This is a remarkable result in any context. They cap off two decades of consistent performance. Over the past 10 years, BSP has delivered a compound annual return to shareholders of 16%, including both dividends and share price appreciation. Few banks globally can match such a record. Importantly, 86% of BSP shares, 86%, are owned by Papua New Guineans, meaning these returns flow directly back to the families, communities, churches, super funds, landowners, and provincial entities who invest in BSP across the country. Importantly, also for super funds, for those of us that work in either the government or in the private sector, we all contribute to the super funds. The super funds are our large shareholders, so these returns come back to us.
The whole lot of us here, whether we shareholders or for the employees and people outside who contribute to the super funds, BSP is owned by us. At the same time, we are investing in our future through our Modernizing for Growth strategy, now well into its second year. In 2024, we rolled out our new values. We care, we aspire, we grow. This reflects the culture we are building as we embrace change without losing the traditional art for our service. Earlier this year, we launched a refreshed brand identity. Our digital-enabled flagship brands at Port Moresby, Waterfront, opened, setting a new benchmark in service and design, and there was a short clip this morning about the Waterfront. Ronis and the team are doing a great job about it. Our digital transactions grew by 20% as customers increasingly adopt modern banking channels.
We expanded our FX, foreign currency capabilities for our business clients. We graduated over or around 140 staff from the new BSP Academy and commenced training the next generation of regional leaders. New ATMs, new FPOS terminals have been procured, supporting 24/7 banking self-service across the network beginning later this year. Earlier this year, we also launched the OneTok Wallet, a mobile-first digital wallet that empowers the underbanked communities to transact securely, demonstrating our continued commitment to financial inclusion across PNG and the broader Pacific. This strategy is more about strategy than technology. It is about building a bank that is simpler, faster, more inclusive, and more responsive to our customers across the South Pacific. In 2024 and 2025, the Board made a deliberate effort to get closer to our people and our customers across PNG. We do this every year, but we are more determined going forward.
In October last year, the Board met in Manus Islands and connected with a number of clients, business partners, and community leaders in the islands. It was a vibrant and energizing visit and a clear reminder of the trust BSP enjoys in the heart of PNG. In February this year, our Board held our first meeting of the year in Lae, where we saw firsthand the incredible dedication of our staff and the growing needs of the industrial and SME sectors. This visit reminds us of the scale of our footprint and the importance of face-to-face engagement and the unique responsibility we have to our own market. In July, we will be visiting Solomon Islands. Sometimes when we go on these visits, I usually jokingly ask, "When was the last time you saw some of our competitors?" Board, from the competitors visit you.
We make an effort to visit our branches and the Pacific network when we can. As a proudly PNG headquartered bank, BSP continues to make an enormous contribution to the country's economic and social development. Since 2015, BSP has paid over PGK 4.7 billion in taxes to PNG. This includes PGK 3.75 million in company income tax and over PGK 700 million in salary and wages tax. Last year alone, BSP contributed an estimated 17% of PNG's total income tax collections. Since 2015, we have paid over PGK 6.5 billion in dividends to shareholders, most of whom are PNG institutions and citizens. As I've noted, 86% of the shares are owned by Papua New Guineans. Outside of the financial returns, we invested more than PGK 7 million in community projects and sponsorship last year. On to board renewal and governance.
As part of our commitment to strong governance, we have undertaken a measured refresh of the BSP board over the past year. In February 2025, we farewelled two of our long-serving directors who have been with us for a while, Dr. Lofi and Mr. Stewart Davis, after a nine and eight-year, respectively, on the board of dedicated service on the board. Dr. Lofi was the chair of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee, and Mr. Davis was the chair of the Board Risk Committee. We thank both Dr. Lofi and Mr. Davis for the wisdom and the deep contribution to BSP's direction and oversight. In March this year, we were delighted to appoint two casual non-executive directors, Mr. David Honoré and Ms. Donna Cooper. Mr. David Honoré is co-founder of Judo Bank, a former ANZ Asia CEO, and Ms.
Cooper, a former CEO of TSB Bank in New Zealand, with extensive experience in digital banking and governance to fill the vacancies left by the resignations or the departures of Dr. Lofi and Mr. Davis. Today, new shareholders will vote on the election of Mr. Honoré and Ms. Cooper, as well as the re-election of two existing directors, Ms. Priscilla Kevin and Patricia Tarek Serovatu. I commend all candidates to you. I'm confident that the board will continue to have the right collective skills, experience, diversity, and judgment to oversee the next phase of BSP's growth. Looking ahead, as we look to the future, BSP is well-positioned. We are growing with the region, strengthening our systems and investing in our people. We are also navigating prudently, responding to regulatory change and managing risk conservatively.
Our first quarter results for 2025 showed continued momentum with a 13% net profit after tax growth and further digital channel expansion. We are on track. We remain committed to building a better bank for our customers, a stronger institution for our shareholders, and a more inclusive bank and a more inclusive future for the South Pacific. Before I close, I would like to express my thank yous, firstly to our staff across the region, over 4,600 dedicated individuals. Thank you for your professionalism and passion to BSP. To my fellow directors, thank you for your wise counsel and commitment. To you, our shareholders, thank you for your trust and belief in BSP. We are proud to serve you and to deliver on our shared ambitions. May God bless us all in our deliberations and meeting this morning. Thank you, and I'll call Mark Robinson, our CEO, to the podium.
Thank you, Drew. Daba Namona, Gupla, Monan, Drew, Algata. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. Good morning, everybody. It's really great to be here with our shareholders, and it's a real privilege to speak to you at our 2025 AGM. Since assuming the role of CEO two years ago on March 1st, 2023, I've had the privilege of leading BSP through a period of modernization. It's been filled with challenges, but most importantly, it's been filled with tremendous opportunity. Now, after two years in the role, I continue to be inspired by the deep sense of responsibility we hold as the region's largest financial institution, proudly headquartered in Papua New Guinea. That responsibility to our customers, our people, our communities, and our shareholders has never been more important.
We are proud of our purpose of championing prosperity in the South Pacific, beginning in Papua New Guinea and stretching all the way to the Cook Islands. 2024 was a landmark year for BSP. It was marked by strong performance across our business and, most importantly, significant progress in our modernization agenda. We delivered a net profit after tax of a little over K 1 billion. Most importantly, this was a 17% increase on the prior year. This was driven by solid revenue growth, strong underlying business performance, and a one-off result, a one-off amount due to a settlement of an additional company tax with the government. Total operating income rose 8% to PGK 3 billion, with net interest income up 7% to PGK 2 billion, supported by lending growth. FX income or foreign exchange income increased by a record 22% to PGK 561 million.
This reflected increased flows right across the region, again from Papua New Guinea all the way to the Cook Islands. It also reflected the fact that over the last several years, we've built an incredibly strong foreign exchange business serving our customers, both retail customers and corporate customers. Fees and commissions rose 9%, largely benefiting from our growth in digital transaction volumes. Our cost base expenses increased by 22%, reaching PGK 1.3 billion. This was due to our modernization agenda, where we're making investments in technology, digital channels, and operational resilience. This led to an increase in our cost-to-income ratio for last year to 41.3%. This is in line with our long-term range for this ratio and still, on a global basis, extremely competitive. In other words, much less than almost any other bank in the world, much better than any other bank in the world.
We also made strong progress in credit quality while continuing to strengthen our loan book. Delinquency rates fell by 80 basis points to 2.8%, and provisions to loans decreased to 3.3%. This is something that comes through prudent risk management, having the right people, the right systems, but it also reflected the fact that in several of our markets, we're looking at improved economic conditions, which are reflected in a stronger portfolio. Our balance sheet remains strong, and this is very important. Total assets increased to PGK 37.1 billion, and our capital adequacy ratio rose to 26.2%, which is more than double the regulatory minimum. The strong balance sheet gives us capacity to withstand volatility and invest for growth. Our performance translated into outstanding returns for shareholders.
We declared a total dividend, as our Chairman mentioned, of PGK 1.66 per share for fiscal year 2024, up 16% on the prior year, representing a 75% dividend payout ratio. BSP's return on equity increased to 23.3%, and we've been consistently profitable for over 20 years, a period during which there's been great progress in terms of acquisitions and growing our business. All in all, another very strong year financially on the back of many years of consistently good financial performance. 2024 was not just about a year of strong financial results. It was a year in which we advanced our modernization agenda and made meaningful changes in how BSP operates and how we deliver for our customers. We, including our FlexCube Core Banking System, here. And more customer-centric service.
Digital transactions grew by over 20% last year, reflecting continued adoption of our mobile and internet channels and our digital lending capabilities. We also invested in our risk management capabilities to ensure we are well-positioned to continue to manage risk effectively. The in-branch customer experience also improved, supported by better queue management and optimized staffing models. We have sharpened our operational execution. We've invested in better tools for our frontline staff and enhanced the resilience of our support functions. These improvements that we've invested in over the last 12 months are creating a more agile and responsive BSP, better positioned to serve customers today and to scale for the future. BSP remains deeply committed to all the markets in which we operate across the South Pacific.
Our strategy is tailored to the unique dynamics of each market, ensuring we meet local customer needs while delivering group-wide standards of service, risk management, technology deployment, and talent development. In 2024, we made targeted investments in systems, people, and customer experience across the Pacific, strengthening our leadership position in lending, deposits, payments, and foreign exchange in nearly every market in which we operate. As competition intensifies, of course, BSP's scale, local insight, and long-term community presence continues to differentiate us and position us strongly for future growth across the region. As the Chairman mentioned, we also contribute to the communities in which we operate through the significant taxes we pay. The slide that you're looking at right now is just the example for PNG, but everywhere we operate, we are a material payer of taxes to the local and state governments.
Clearly, you can see in the case of PNG, we account for a significant portion of the income tax received by the government. The people behind BSP are, of course, our greatest asset. As the Chairman mentioned, we graduated two full cohorts from the BSP Academy, our signature capability program in PNG. Over 140 frontline and support staff are now trained in agile banking, digital service, and operational excellence, with many more to follow. Looking ahead, we have entered 2025 with momentum and confidence. Our Modernizing for Growth strategy has six clear strategic shifts, and we are well into execution across all of them. We plan to invest further in digital products, branch modernization, and data-driven customer insights.
We are focused on delivering world-class service to our customers no matter where they are across the Pacific, whether they be in the Highlands in Papua New Guinea or several time zones away from here. As you will see, digital transactions continue to grow very fast right across the region for us, more traditional transactions executed in branches growing at a much slower rate. Today, I think it's important to highlight three strategic initiatives that are helping shape BSP's next chapter. I'd like to have our staff who are leading these initiatives come and explain them to you. Firstly, the OneTok Wallet. As many of you know, the OneTok Wallet was launched on February 14th this year. It's a new mobile wallet platform designed to drive financial inclusion, making everyday transactions easier, safer, and more accessible. The OneTok Wallet is being led by Penelope Aisi.
Penelope is a recipient of the Female Innovator of the Year Award here in Papua New Guinea, and all of us at BSP are extremely proud of her. Following Penelope's presentation, we're going to have Raymond Logona. He's going to come up and talk to us about our establishment of BSP's business banking customer segment to support the unique needs that small and medium-sized enterprises have. Thirdly, and lastly, I'm going to have David Pidik come up and talk about cash optimization. Cash optimization is our enterprise-wide effort to improve how we manage cash across our network, reducing operational risk and costs, while most importantly, improving customer access and experience. Again, rather than just speak to these, I've invited these executives to present a short brief on their initiative. Please join me in welcoming them to the stage, starting with Penelope.
Thank you, Mark. Good morning, Chairman, Directors, and esteemed shareholders. I'm pleased to provide an update on one of BSP's most impactful digital innovations, OneTok Wallet, a service that reflects our commitment to financial inclusion in Papua New Guinea. Launched on the 14th of February this year, OneTok Wallet empowers users to send and receive money, top up phones, pay bills, and withdraw cash using any mobile phone without requiring a bank account or internet access. Accessible via *131#, it is a PIM-secured, protected transaction, and it's convenient for Papua New Guineans, particularly those in rural and remote communities. As of today, we have more than 50,000 registered users. Our key transaction drivers include mobile top-ups, cardless ATM withdrawals, and transfers between BSP accounts and OneTok Wallet. This demonstrates strong customer engagement with everyday financial needs.
To improve usability, we have delivered key upgrades, including the removal of our date of birth entry during registration and transfers, streamlining the process and making it more user-friendly. Self-registration is also scheduled for release in our next patch, which will further enhance onboarding and accessibility. Looking ahead, our June and July campaign will focus on roadshows and community activations across rural areas, towns, and urban centers. This is aimed at driving awareness, trust, and adoption. OneTok Wallet is a bridge to financial inclusion, and we are proud of its impact that it is making. I now invite Raymond Lagona to present the business banking SME proposition. Thank you.
Thank you, Penelope. Good morning, Nogata. Over the last 18 months, we embarked on a journey to create and establish a dedicated service offering to support the SME market around Papua New Guinea. I am proud to announce that Business Bank recently launched on the 30th of April this year and was very well received by the market. Our Business Bank proposition aims to bring bank to the customers through our unparalleled reach that is designed to support our customers through our innovative approach and solutions. Business Bank supports with business loans and finance requirements, business account services, online banking, and FX requirements that aims to grow your business as we partner to prosperity. Business Bank provides enhanced and dedicated banking services through our product specialist team, our dedicated relationship teams, and leverages BSP's strong branch and market presence.
With our dedicated approach, we aim to drive and champion prosperity for our customers and communities. Business Bank is bringing the bank to the customer. Thank you. I now invite Mr. Pidik to come and give his cash initiatives .
Thank you, Ray. Cash is central to our operations at BSP. As a systemic banking PNG and the largest financial institution in the Pacific, we manage the largest branch network across remote islands and the Highlands. BSP plays a crucial role in the facilitation of the cash supply chain at a significant cost to the business. In order to optimize cash and the cash cycle, a comprehensive approach to the entire cash supply chain was required. We analyzed the current process model and transformed our goals into a world-class to-be model. A key component of this was automation. Utilizing cash machines that count, authenticate, sort, and grade cash, which allowed our talented staff to refocus their efforts on serving our valuable customers rather than counting cash. Following our pilot, we set up regional cash centers and distributed 168 cash machines across 34 branches in PNG, improving efficiency, accuracy, and customer service.
The model was successfully adopted in PNG and is being standardized across the Pacific market. BSP's investment aims to enhance processes, reduce costs, and meet the customer's needs today and into the future. Thank you. I'll hand you back to Mark.
Thank you, Penelope, Raymond, and David, for those insightful overviews and gave enough insight without giving away too much competitive information. Thank you. Getting the balance just right. It is a changing competitive landscape, that's for sure, but we welcome competition that keeps us on our toes. These three initiatives, OneTok Wallet, our business bank, and cash optimization are examples of initiatives that are central to our strategy and will help drive a stronger, more inclusive, and more efficient and nimble BSP. I thank each of you folks and your teams for the important work that you were leading.
These programs and many others underway are a clear reflection of our commitment to service excellence, growth, innovation, and financial inclusion. Let me close by adding my thanks to the more than 3 million customers in PNG and across the Pacific, which trust us with their banking business, our over 4,000 staff members at BSP who serve our customers daily, our board and our executive team, and most importantly, our shareholders for your trust and support. Thank you very much. I will now turn the meeting back to our Chairman, Robert Bradshaw. Thank you.
All right. Thank you. Thank you, Mark. All right. Now let's get to the formal side of things for the meeting. The agenda items for our meeting in accordance with the notice of meeting are as follows.
For the general business, we have the approval of minutes for the previous annual general meeting held on the 17th of May, 2024. For the ordinary business, we have a number of items. The first item is the adoption of the BSP Financial Group's annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2024. The second item will be the adoption of BSP's group remuneration report for the year ended 31st December 2024. The third item will be the reelection of directors, Priscilla Kevin and Patricia Tarek Serovatu. The fourth item is the election of new directors, David Honoré and Donna Cooper. Finally, the fifth item will be appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as auditors of the BSP Financial Group. Few rules. Voting on the resolutions will be conducted by sole events by sale orders using the yellow voting cards that were provided to you upon registration.
Shareholders attending the meeting online will not be able to cast their votes or to ask questions. Following the voting, general business questions will then be taken from the shareholders. Shareholder questions received in the appropriate form prior to the meeting will be addressed during the general business section at the end of the meeting. Notice and proxies. We will now move to the formal part of the meeting. The formal notice of the meeting, I say, was duly given on the 23rd of April 2025 in accordance with BSP's constitutions and the Companies Act, and the meeting has been properly convened. Only shareholders or the duly appointed proxy holders present here today will be able to ask questions and vote on the items of business. When addressing the meeting, please use the microphone that will be provided to you.
We ask that you identify yourself by raising and showing your yellow voting card, stating your full name, and if you hold a proxy, the name of the organization you represent. Those of you who have joined us online may watch but cannot vote. I would propose each motion and allow discussion on the motion. I will then formally put the motion to the meeting. There will be a reasonable opportunity given to discuss each item of business. However, I ask that you restrict your questions and comments to the particular item of business that is before the meeting. Any other questions or comments can come at the end of the formal part. Quorum. With respect to quorum, I declare that the quorum is present, and I declare the meeting formally open.
I confirm that the total number of votes registered appointing the chairman, that's me, or another person to vote in favor of the resolutions is not less than 72% of the maximum number of votes able to be cast at this meeting. In the circumstances, all resolutions must pass. The resolutions. Now, moving on to the resolutions, each resolution set out in the notice of motion is to be considered as an ordinary resolution, and as such, must be approved by a simple majority of the votes cast by shareholders and entitled to vote and voting on the resolution. Let's go to the general business. The first, the only item for general business is the minutes of the previous annual general meeting held on the 17th of May, 2024.
May I—if the minutes come on, if you can ever look at the minutes, and then I will ask—we have to record the minutes, a correct record of the minutes of the meeting. The minutes have been put up. Everyone's read the minutes. May I have a mover of the resolution, please, that the minutes of that annual general meeting be accepted? Thank you. May I have a seconder, please? Thank you. The motion has been formally moved and seconded. If there are any shareholders who wish to speak to the motion, please raise your yellow card and state your full name, and if you hold a proxy, as advised or stated, the name of the organization you represent before addressing the meeting. Anyone who wishes to speak to the motion? If there are no questions, I will formally put the motion.
The motion is that the minutes of the previous annual general meeting dated 17th May 2024 are hereby read and accepted. All those in favor, please indicate by a show of hands. Anyone against? Thank you. I declare that the motion is carried. Now to the ordinary business as set out in the notice of motion. The annual report, resolution number one, the first item is the annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2024. The annual report, including the financial statements, directors' report, and the auditor's report, including the 2024 annual report for the company and its subsidiaries for the year ended 31st December 2024, is available on the BSP website. It was available prior to this meeting. Printed copies were also dispatched to those shareholders who elected to receive copies.
Neither the PNG Companies Act 1997 nor the company's constitution requires shareholders to vote on such reports. As no resolution is required, there will be no voting on this item of business. If there are any shareholders who have any questions about these reports, please raise your hand, yellow card, and state your name before addressing the meeting. Thank you. As there are no questions, I will formally take that the financial statements as of 31st December 2024, together with the reports of directors and auditor's report included in the annual report, be received. The next item of business is the adoption of the remuneration report of the company for the year ended 31st December 2024. This requires a resolution. As a listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange, the company is required under the Australian Corporations Act 2001 to include a remuneration report in the directors' report.
The remuneration report relates to the remuneration of directors and key management personnel of the company and has been prepared in conformity with the requirements of Section 300A, 300A of that act. It can be found on pages 50 to 57 of the 2024 annual report. It is a requirement under Section 250A, subsection 2 of that act that the remuneration report be put to the vote of shareholders for adoption. This resolution is advisory only and does not bind the company, sorry, does not bind the directors of the company. However, any feedback from shareholders will be considered by the board when formulating remuneration policy for future years. May I have a mover of the resolution, please? Any movers for the resolution? Thank you. Thank you, John. May I have a seconder, please? Thank you.
The motion has been formally moved and seconded. If there are any sale orders who wish to speak to the motion again, please raise your yellow card and state your name before addressing the meeting. If there are no questions, I will formally put the motion that the remuneration report for the year ended 31st December 2024 be adopted. All those in favor, please indicate by show of hands. Thank you. Those against? Thank you. I declare the motion is carried. The next item of business is the reelection of directors of the company. Resolutions 3A and 3B concern the reelection of Priscilla Kevin and Patricia Tarek Serovatu as directors of BSP. Both Priscilla and Patricia retired by rotation and being eligible offer themselves for reelection under the company's constitution. Let's firstly deal with the reelection of Priscilla, Priscilla Kevin as a director.
Priscilla was appointed to the BSP board in 2020 and is a member of the Board Risk Committee. Priscilla is an IT professional specializing in enterprise resource planning, support advisory. She has over 20 years of ICT industry experience providing ICT consultancy and support to a range of businesses and government bodies. She holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from the PNG University of Technology and is an advocate and founder of PNG Women in STEM and Digital ICT Cluster. She's also a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In accordance with the company's constitution and being eligible, Ms. Priscilla Kevin offers herself for reelection by the shareholders. The board has assessed Ms. Kevin to be an independent director, and with Ms. Kevin abstaining, recommends to the shareholders that you vote in favor of her reelection.
Could I ask that resolution 3A in the notice of motion to reelect Priscilla Kevin as a director be moved and seconded, please? May I have a mover of the motion, please? Thank you. May I have a seconder? Thank you. The motion has been formally moved and seconded. If there are any shareholders who wish to speak to the motion, please state your name before addressing the meeting. Thank you.
Thank you, Chairman Robinson. Thank you, rest of the directors of BSP Financial Group Limited. Happy to be here. My name is Connie Korokan Alon. I pay specific reference to my traditional name, Korokan, meaning man of sunlight. I'm a private BSP investor. I would like to put on this question. I want to raise on this motion, I want to raise the question.
To understand the position and the stand of those two directors we are about to reelect and the two other new directors that will be joining the company and we will vote on today, what their positions were with respect to the repress of the BSP identity or brand. I, as a son of the soil, soil of Papua New Guinea, also as a beneficiary among the 86% of Papua New Guineans who own BSP, express my displeasure, disappointment at the cultural erasure that was tolerated without putting the issue to the shareholders.
I want to understand the position of those directors that we will reelect today and the other new ones that we will elect for the first time, what their positions were, because what I, as an individual, a son of the Swail in Papua New Guinea, is not impressed with the way that the three kundus were removed, all right? The kundus does not represent anything. It is 50 years of civilizational history and identity attached to that. 50,000. It is not something simple. It speaks of the heartbeat of the nation. I want to understand their perspective, their issues were before we can vote to reelect these two directors and the new ones.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Korokan Alon. All right. I'll answer part of the question, but not the rest.
What I will suggest is that with respect to the branding, we can put it to the question- and- answer session at the end. Let's get through with the motions first. When we get to the end, let's deal with the formal part of the business for the AGM, and at the end, we can deal with the branding. Generally, briefly, to answer your question, for directors, the two new directors that have been appointed by the board to fill the casual vacancy, David and Donna, they had no part in the decision regarding branding. The decision was made before they joined the board or when the casual seat. We will keep them out. We will put that out for the timing. With respect to directors Patricia and Priscilla, we are all part of the board. It is a board decision.
We cannot delve into what was discussed and what may have been discussed, whose position was taken at the board. It is a collective board decision. We, as a board, take responsibility. I, as the Chairman, take responsibility. As I have stated, thank you for the question, but let's deal with it towards the end because we all understand. I am a Papua New Guinean as well. We are all sensitive about this issue. You may talk to OPN. Let's go through the formal part of the business first. Thank you. All right. Any other questions? Yes.
Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Chairman. With regards to the agenda of the re-election of Ms. Kevin, my name is Vanessa Acevo-Mamu. I am a private shareholder. With regards to this specific agenda, I would like to know who else on the board holds an IT-specific qualification apart from Ms. Kevin. Thank you.
I think most of the directors who have had experience running banks before have IT experience. And if I can also say, our new director, which we have nominated to fill the vacancy, David Honoré, who's joining the board, has lots of IT experience. He's the founder of Judo Bank, and if you Google Judo Bank, you'll realize it's the leading SME bank, one of the leading SME banks in Australia in the fintech circle. So we have skills on the board, but we're bringing on David, so that just adds to the skills we have on the board, including Priscilla. Any other questions? Thank you. All right. I've gone off script a bit, so let me find out where I am up to, and then we'll carry on. All right.
If I may, if there are no further questions, I will now formally put the motion, and the motion is that Priscilla Kevin, a director retiring by rotation, be and is hereby reelected as a director of the company. All those in favor, please indicate by a show of hands. Thank you. Those against? Thank you. I declare that the motion is carried, and congratulations, Priscilla. Resolution 3B concerns the reelection of Patricia Tarek Serovatu as a director. Patricia is a lawyer by profession, admitted to practice law in Papua New Guinea in 1988. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of PNG. Patricia was appointed to the board in April 2022 and currently serves as the chair of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee and also a member of the Board Audit and Compliance Committee.
Patricia has over 30 years' experience in the legal, superannuation, property, commercial, and corporate services in PNG. She is a member of the Papua New Guinea Institute of Company Directors and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In accordance with the company's constitution and being eligible, Ms. Patricia Tarek Serovatu offers herself for reelection by the shareholders. The board has assessed that Patricia is independent, and with Ms. Tarek Serovatu abstaining, recommends to you, the shareholders, that you vote in favor of her reelection. Could I ask that the Resolution 3B in the notice of motion to reelect Patricia Tarek Serovatu as a director be moved and seconded, please? May I have a mover of the resolution, please? Thank you. May I have a seconder, please? Thank you. The motion has now been formally moved and seconded.
If there are any sale orders who wish to speak to the motion, please again state your name before addressing the meeting. Any questions? If there are no questions, I'll formally put the motion. The motion is that Patricia Tarek Serovatu, a director retiring by rotation, be and is hereby reelected as a director of the company. All those in favor, please indicate by a show of hands. Thank you. Those against? Thanks, John. Thank you. I declare that the motion is carried, and congratulations to Patricia. All right. We now come to the part of election of new directors. Resolution 4A and 4B amid constancy appointment of David Honoré, or election of David Honoré and Donna Cooper.
Both David and Donna were appointed to fill casual vacancies in the board as required under our constitution, following the resignations of Dr. Lofi and Mr. Stewart Davis, in February 2025 this year. Resolution 4A, election of Director David Honoré. Mr. Honoré is an highly experienced commercial banker with over 35 years' experience working with several of Australia's leading commercial and investment banks. Mr. Honoré is also an experienced entrepreneur, having co-founded the ASX-listed Judo Bank in 2016. Previously, Mr. Honoré worked at National Australia Bank from 2009 to 2015, with his roles including executive general manager, corporate, and specialist banking. David worked for ANZ Banking Group between 1996 and 2007 as managing director and then global head of capital markets from 1996 to 2004, and then as the CEO of ANZ Asia. From 1988- 1996, David worked in various roles at Macquarie Group, with his last role being global head of capital markets.
David has also been a director and chair of a range of industry bodies and not-for-profit enterprises, including the chair of Shirleyo Thai, a not-for-profit urban change specialist that consults to government and private enterprises in Australia and internationally. David is also the chair of Judo Bank and holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney. The board considers that Mr. Honoré, or David, possesses the necessary qualifications to fill the vacancy left by Director Stewart Davis's retirement on 19 February 2025 and nominated David for the appointment as a director of the company subject to the Bank of Papua New Guinea's fit and proper assessment. On Thursday, 24 April 2025, the Bank of Papua New Guinea approved Mr. Honoré's appointment as a non-executive director.
In accordance with clause 15.3A of the constitution, any director appointed to fill a casual vacancy by the board since the previous annual general meeting must stand for election at the next annual general meeting. Mr. Honoré, being eligible, offers himself for election. I ask that the Resolution 4A in the notice of motion to elect David Honoré as a director be moved and seconded, please. May I have a mover? Thank you. May I have a seconder, please? Thank you. The motion has been formally moved and seconded. If there are any shareholders who wish to speak to the motion, please state your name again before addressing the meeting. Any questions? Thank you. If there are no questions, I will formally put the motion, and that the motion is that David Honoré be and is hereby elected as a director of the company.
All those in favor, please indicate by a show of hands. Thank you. Any against? Thank you. I declare that the motion is carried. Congratulations, David. If I may say, we look forward to his contributions to the board of BSP. Resolution 4B concerns the election of Director Donna Cooper. Ms. Cooper is a highly experienced financial services leader with nearly 30 years of diverse international experience in banking, global payments, and debt management. Ms. Cooper served as the Chief Executive Officer of TSB Bank, New Zealand's sixth largest bank from 2018- 2023.
She was the CEO of the Waterhouse Group Financial Services Companies from 2017- 2018, general manager of New Zealand for Baycorp Limited, New Zealand's debt management organization from 2014 to 2017, and held various globally based positions with American Express International, including vice president, consumer card products, and Australia, sorry, that's with American Express International, and also the vice president, consumer products, India, from 2006 to 2008. Ms. Cooper holds a Bachelor of Business degree from the Auckland University of Technology and a Master's of Arts degree from the RIN School of Business in France. Ms. Cooper was the inaugural chair of the Domestic Banks Group of the New Zealand Banking Association, a forum for bank CEOs to work together on banking sector issues until 2023. Ms. Cooper is also on the board of Sky City Entertainment Limited, a New Zealand's largest tourism and entertainment company.
Where she chairs is People and Culture and Transformation Committees and is a member of the Risk and Compliance Committee. The board considers that Ms. Cooper possesses the necessary qualifications to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Dr. Lofi and nominated Donna for the appointment as a director of the company subject to the Bank of Papua New Guinea's fit and proper assessment. On Thursday, 24 April 2025, the Bank of Papua New Guinea approved Ms. Cooper's appointment as a non-executive director. In accordance with clause 15.3A of the constitution, again, any director appointed to fill a casual vacancy by the board since the previous annual general meeting must stand for election at the next annual general meeting, which is today. Ms. Cooper, being eligible, offers herself for election. I ask that Resolution 4B in the notice of meeting to elect Donna Cooper as a director be moved and seconded, please.
May I have a mover for the resolution? Thank you, Rajeev. May I have a seconder, please? Thank you. The motion has been formally moved and seconded. If there are any shareholders who wish to speak to the motion, please state your name before addressing the meeting. If there are no questions, I will formally put the motion, and that is that Donna Cooper be and is hereby elected as a director of the company. All those in favor, please indicate by a show of hands. Thank you. Any against? Thank you. I declare that the motion is carried. Congratulations, Donna. We look forward to Donna's contributions to the board going forward. The final item of business is the appointment of the company's auditors.
In 2022, the company went to tender and upon recommendation from the Board Audit and Compliance Committee, the board appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC, to be the company's auditor for the next three years, subject to sale order approval at this meeting. The board proposes that PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC, be appointed auditors of the company from the conclusion of this meeting until the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the company and that the board be authorized to fix their remuneration. Could I ask that Resolution 5 in the notice of motion, sorry, notice of meeting, to appoint PwC or PricewaterhouseCoopers as auditors for 2025 be moved and seconded, please? May I have a mover? Thank you. May I have a seconder? Thank you. The motion has been formally moved and seconded.
If there are any shareholders who wish to speak to the motion, again, state your name before addressing the meeting. If there are no questions, I will formally put the motion that PricewaterhouseCoopers be appointed as auditors of the company for 2025 and that the board be authorized to fix their remuneration. All those in favor, please indicate by a show of hands. Thank you. Any against? Thank you. I declare that the motion is carried. Now, this comes to the close of the formal business of our annual general meeting. As there are no other items of business which due notice has been given to the shareholders, that concludes the business of the annual general meeting this morning. On behalf of the board, I would like to thank you for your support and now declare the meeting closed.
Please ensure, however, we'll get to the question now. Please ensure that your yellow voting cards are placed in the ballot boxes that will be brought to you, and the results of the meeting will be announced to the ASX and PNGX later today. Once again, I thank you for your attendance and participating in this meeting. If you have any further questions, the board and management will now be available to answer them. Thank you. Yes, John.
Thank you. Thank you, Chairman. My name is John, John Tuaim . I represent the MRDC Group. There are 13 companies in MRDC that are shareholders of BSP. If I at least start calling their names, then we'll spend five minutes. I'll just say 13 companies. The largest is PRK. PRK used to be like TED. I think TED is the largest shareholder in BSP.
I think they have now been replaced by Fiji Provident Fund. Well done, Fijians. MRDC Group put together, we are like the second, I think, second largest shareholders in BSP. With that, I'd like to maybe, first of all, say thank you to Chairman and CEO. Well done. Your results have spoken. I think as shareholders, we have enjoyed very good relationships with BSP and continued dividend year after year and every year better than the previous year. Well done. So far, so good. Also, not forgetting the previous management as well. I think they've set the foundation, late Kosters and Robin. I think they've also set the foundation, expanded to the Pacific, and now we see the results and things are very good.
From MRDC, as the shareholders, we are quite pleased and happy with the management and the way things are going at the moment. Thank you very much for that. On that note, I think you would have all seen me actually vote against two directors that are actually coming up for reappointment. I would just like to explain, and this is with due respect to both of you, Patricia and Priscilla, in your own right, we have no issues. You are capable directors in your own right. As a proponent and shareholder in BSP, we are quite upset about the change of the logo. We think that the existing directors have actually let us down. Papua New Guinea is actually a place of culture. It is actually vibrant and it is also full of symbols and signs.
We actually, our tribes, our clans, our provinces, our districts, we all have our own symbols that are actually passed down from generation after generation. We never play around with them. We do not tamper with them because they are our identity. We take them close to our heart. BSP has always been the three kundus and the green color. I love this green color. The kundus are missing. You know, it is breaking our heart. We have been foundation shareholders and through and through, your largest shareholders are proven Indians, your largest businesses in PNG, and this is our identity. We are quite, we are not happy with the way things have been going with the removal of our logo. We would like to request that the logos are replaced.
Otherwise, we will continue to vote against all the directors that have actually been in place at the time of the change of the logos. We will vote in the subsequent AGMs against all the directors that have voted in favor of the removal of the logo. Other than that, we are quite happy. We have business. We have very good business relationship with Peter ICA. We've got very good business relationship with BSP. We bank with BSP. BSP is close to us. Our relationship has always been fantastic. We want to maintain that. We do not want this logo issue to become an issue business-wise, that relationship will continue. Please, as a shareholder, as a proponent, we request all of you and the new directors to come on board. We have voted in favor of you because you have nothing to do with it.
But please, we also request that, please, Chairman and CEO and the directors, please reconsider. Bring back our three kundus because every country, every province has a kundu. Kundu is our identity. It represents PNG. It is our pride. Please bring it back. Thank you.
Thank you. All right. I think, can I just do a small spin to this? You know, the rebranding has been controversial. We get it. As I said later on, I'm a proponent and I get it too. The kundu means something strong to us in our cultures. Let's go back a bit now. In 1957, the founders of this bank called BSP probably got together in a room and wanted to start BSP, wanted to start a bank. They came up with the name Bank of South Pacific. They could have called it any other name.
They could have called it Bank of Papua, Bank of New Guinea, Paradise Bank, any name. They called it Bank of South Pacific. In some way, the dream was that one day this bank that they started in a small office in PNG would be the Bank of the South Pacific. We used to be PNG. Now you may start throughout the Pacific. Sorry, I'm mixing pigeon a bit. We're six other Pacific island countries. So BSP is no longer just a domestic PNG bank now. We're a regional bank with aspirations to be an international bank. So BSP is proudly accorded in PNG because this is where our roots are. 87% of you sale is a proper New Guineans. We get that. But as I've said, we're also in the South Pacific country, six other South Pacific countries. Our sale is also changing.
Of the three countries that are we, BSP is in. The super funds are also major sale to BSP. Fiji Provident Fund is not the second largest sale there. If you put the MRDC Group together, if you group them together, they become the second largest sale there. Fiji Provident Fund comes third. As part of the growth strategy and looking into the future, we need to rebrand. Every bank or every organization goes through this every 30 or 40 years. Yes, we get it. We need a brand, a logo that is not just unique to PNG only. It has to be something that is inclusive. It is something that should be embracing everyone else from the Pacific into the BSP family. The Pacific market now contributes over 30% of our revenue.
Some of the time, if I can say in Pidgin, you may pop up something. How else do you grow your business? Yes, we're passionate about our kundus, but we need something that's inclusive, not just exclusive to one or two countries in the Pacific. That is why this new logo comes. We need something that is modern and that's forward-looking. Something in new power. The name is still BSP. The colors are there. When you look at the patterns on the walls, the kundus are still there. The only thing we've done is we rebranded and there are four components to the logo. You may cut kundu stuff inside. We've got the traditional fishhook. We've got the waves and we've got the seabed. These four are unique throughout the Pacific. These four bind us.
That is why we come up with this logo, something that binds the whole of us in the Pacific so that we are a truly bank of the South Pacific. If we are going to grow market share in these Pacific countries, they also need to feel part of the BSP family because they are also our sale as well. Osuna, if I can say in Pidgin again, something you may pop up. We also, you may start talking to you may be the big brother in the Pacific now or Liqliqa. By you may just put him sign, you may touch on that, you may lose tinting law. It is not a blood bank, not a blood country coming to put him logo by you and us. It is the same thing. That is why we have come up with this decision.
It has been a very difficult decision. It has not been made lightly. Do not forget, if you look at the financials and the numbers, the numbers are going forward. The bank is improving. The bank is growing. We need to go forward. We cannot just be, you may PNG touch on that. For my PNG countrymen, some of the time we are also in this land, you may start looking, you may be blue liner, you may start lead a bit. That is the whole reason. Sorry, I have gone off a bit, but I think I need to say this so that at least you get to see where we are seeing things. Now you apply a point to me, you guys have appointed us. We will always act in what we believe is the best interest of the bank.
We act, we have to position the bank for the future. Where are we going to grow the bank? PNG, you may call people a penis. Where else do you want to grow? If you're trying to grow it outside, well, you have to have a logo or a brand that is inclusive. You may be in a corner talking and maybe a PNG, some of the Pacific countries to almost like you may. So that is the whole reason. It is about having something that's modern and looking forward. Thank you. I hope I've answered John's question there. Anything else? Yes, Rajeev.
Hi, I'm Rajeev from Nasfund . I also represent the Association of Super Funds in Papua New Guinea and also Pacific Investment Forum, which is a combination of all the super funds in Pacific.
Not only we, Nasfund , are shareholders of BSP, or all the super funds in Papua New Guinea and few super funds in Pacific. On behalf of all of them, thank you very much to the Chairman, CEO, and the team board of directors of BSP for the fantastic performance in 2024. Performance came both ways, a dividend which has been coming year by year and fantastic great growth in the share price of 45% in 2024. I do not know how we are going to match it in future years. Good luck for the next year. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Sorry, before I get the next question, I could have been fired over this. There was a question that came in online, was largely wrong. According to the procedure, I should have read this out first, but I think we got carried away a bit.
If I can read this question, management can explain, and then we'll move on to more questions. The question from the shareholder was Nimama Capital Limit, or OneTok from Lear. The question is this: with the establishment of the National Banking Corporation, NBC, and the banking licenses issued by the Bank of Papua New Guinea, there is a risk that government deposits and those belonging to organizations and firms associated with the government will be moved to NBC, including foreign exchange-related banking requirements. If this happens, this will have a significant impact on the bank's market share in deposits and foreign exchange income. What is BSP doing about this to mitigate any potential adverse financial impacts to the future financial performance and sell the value? I think the CEO is more qualified for this. Mark.
Thank you very much for the question. We recognize that the establishment of the National Banking Corporation may alter the competitive landscape over time, but in fact, the establishment of a number of new banks is likely to have an impact as well. If it's good for the banking sector and it's good for the country, we, of course, welcome it. Competition, as I said earlier, keeps us on our toes. It's a healthy development. Specifically regarding government-related balances, we continue to maintain very strong and long-term relationships with all of our large depositors, including government departments, state-owned enterprises, and large corporates. Our top 10 depositors account for about 12% of our deposits, and we're in close dialogue as part of these long-standing relations with them to ensure we continue to meet their evolving financial needs. This especially includes the investments we're making in modern transaction banking capabilities.
Of course, BSP remains very well positioned, very strongly positioned as the largest and most trusted bank in Papua New Guinea, with an extensive branch network from one end of the country to the other, especially in rural areas, over 2.7 million customers and a deep local knowledge. These advantages that we have will not easily be replicated by anybody in a long, long time. To protect and grow our business, as you've heard this morning, we're executing our Modernizing for Growth strategy, investing in core banking systems, digital channels, our SME business, and our customer service capabilities. We're also expanding in terms of financial inclusion with our OneTok Wallet, our investment in our mobile banking reach to attract new segments and drive greater transaction banking volumes across our platforms.
We're going to continue to focus on delivering reliable, high-quality service all across Papua New Guinea, staying close to our customers, and ensuring BSP remains the bank of choice in Papua New Guinea, not just for retail customers, but for the government and state-owned enterprises. Customer focus, as I hope you've gathered from our speeches today, presentations as well, remains central to our strategy. We're confident that our customer service, our network, our online network, our digital platforms, and most importantly, our team of over 3,200 Papua New Guinean staff will allow us to manage emerging risks effectively and, most importantly, reliably serve all of our customers over the long term, including the largest customers in the country, such as the government, government departments, and state-owned enterprises. Thank you for the question again.
I think it's there. Next time, I'll get longer too, so I might have to look for one of the stockman boots. Thank you. All right. I think, Connie, you had your hand up.
Yes, thank you.
The microphone.
Thank you, Robert, once again. Like I said initially, we have no objections to what modernization you are doing with customer experience, technology. What we are pained, while we have touched the soul of a nation. And we felt that was a dereliction of duty by the directors of the board in not consulting us, our view, before this thing came about. The banks of the South Pacific, Pacific is already there. They're captured. There was no need to do anything. All right? I've already registered that as a notice to the board. I believe you've seen it. My letter of objection, disappointment, insofar as this sudden disappearance of our cultural identity has happened.
Before we go to the next AGM, we'll be talking among ourselves as shareholders to call for an extraordinary meeting so that we will specifically put to vote this branding. Our objective is to put on hold to that. All right? Bring back the three logos, our three kundus. We will be talking among ourselves to call for an extraordinary meeting specifically for that. If we do not get any response from the board of directors together with the management, CCU management, we'll give you guys at least a month to do that. Failing that, we will, among the shareholders, call for an extraordinary meeting specifically on that before we come to the next AGM.
Thank you. Thank you, Connie. Thank you, Connie. Shareholders, you have your rights. If you want to call any meeting, etc., the company's act is there, the constitution is there.
If you can follow it, it's your bank. We're only here to manage it for you in the best interest of the bank. As I said earlier, from the board's perspective, the best way to grow your business is to go through these changes. We have a choice. You may move forward or you may just stop the sale. If you want big returns, if you want returns to continue to go up, I think we have to start appealing to the outside markets. Already you're looking at the returns now. In terms of ownership, only 14% is non-citizen, but they contribute 30% of your revenue, of your profits. I think you have your rights, as I've said it, but by appointing us as your board, you entrust us to run your company in the best interest of the company. We believe we've done that.
You look at the numbers, everything else is there. You may need to move forward. Having said that, as I said, you plus shareholders, you have your rights under the constitution and the company's act. We will leave it at that. Point taken. Thank you very much, Connie. Any other questions? Y es. Thank you.
Thank you. Victor Seda is my name. This is a very short but very brief question. Before I get on to that, I think that the two new incoming directors are well-credentialed and certainly a brief overview on Judo Bank. It has caused a lot of disruption to the major banking industry in Australia and certainly look forward to it being applied here in PNG. I think the results are very good, and I take this opportunity to thank the bank for it.
But my question is to the CEO, being implementing a lot of changes, which I think is good. Given your employment contract, will you be here to fully implement to a mature and fruition level?
I'll let Mark answer that one. I'll just say briefly, I don't think there's any cost right now to terminate his con
tract. So, Mark? Now I'll answer. Sorry to confuse you, Bob. I'll answer from down here this time. Thank you for the question, Victor. I do have an employment contract, and it extends for a number of years. I really, really think that the changes we're making today are going to have a lasting impact on the bank. Most importantly, I have a great team around me.
One thing we have done very consciously in the last 18 months since I arrived is really start to think a lot about developing the senior team, the top 20 people in the bank. We have been very conscious about rotating people into different roles. A number of the folks working for me are gaining broader experience than they would have otherwise had. We are creating a lot of bench strength because there is always the plan, and then there is the proverbial, what happens if somebody gets hit by a bus? I can guarantee you the senior team is getting stronger and stronger every year. I would put the senior team of management up against any of the big banks that we compete with, not just in the region, but in places like Australia as well.
In short, I certainly intend to be around as long as necessary to make sure these changes are effective. I hope that's helpful.
Any other questions? Oh, good. That's really good. Let me see the script. I think that's it. Oh, sorry.
Thank you, Chairman Robert. My name is Tony Walwal. I'm an individual shareholder. I raised the same question several times already. I'm raising it again. This is regarding the customer service. It has taken too long, and I haven't seen much improvement. The line is getting longer. I had about OneTok Wallet or app. That's one of them. Maybe it might be a solution or not. Talking is another thing. Real practical part of it, I haven't seen the outcome, especially in a rural PNG district and provinces. It's getting worse. As you know, the population is increasing. It's not decreasing.
Services are running late. Maybe certain services are not there. Maybe power. I don't know. Those are the real practical. I come from a real practical background, which I've shared with David and Hades, and they are fully aware of that. I'm raising that again. In one of the meetings, I said we shareholders should be given a privilege of formal banking. In fact, I was given a privilege, but the management in Waigani misplaced my paper, and I had to join the queue, the long queue for hours and hours standing in the bank, especially in the rural areas. It's worse than must be. I think you have so many workers. Where I come from, in Maprik, in East Sepik, it is even worse. The bank is a small branch, not brand agency here. Let me put it that way.
It was once a brand with so many workers. That was in the 1990s. Now it's gone. You heard about huge cash flow going on in the province. I put that to David and his team to look into that. The movement of cash with the OneTok, I don't know. In real practice, in the tablets, it will show up. In real case, where do I get it? I'm raising this one to Robert, your team, to look into. Thank you.
Thank you. Tony, I think there's a lot, and probably management will be the right people from the board's perspective. If you look at it in the next three to five years, we're investing a lot of money in Modernizing for Growth. There will be new FPOS coming, Nuclear ATM by come. The ATMs can accept deposits.
We're looking at why they're queued in the bank. Don't forget, I'm a BSP customer as well. I drive down on a Saturday to the ATM, and the ATM's not working. What do you think? I also get upset. We all do. We see the queues. We know where the problems are, and the bank is cognizant of that. That is why people are planting seeds now. We're planting small seeds with our investments. It will take time. I think as a Chairman, I can say I believe in the next three to four years, this BSP will be a different bank because we're investing a lot. We've never invested before. PGK 345 million in two years, likely to go up to PGK 580 million, and big plum money you may spend them, all because of customer experience.
As a BSP customer, when I first joined the board, I used to complain a lot about the queues and the ATMs, the FPOS. We all share the same issues, but we are investing. As I have said, once this page, probably in the next three to four, four, five years, BSP should be a different bank. It has to be a different bank because there is competition on the way. Point taken, and we are working on it. Thank you. I think that is about it. If you have any other questions, the board is here. Management is here, so pull them to the side. I think there are some refreshments outside. Share. It is good to talk, talk out issues and cross and bear levy, and we move forward. I think that is it.
On behalf of the board and management, thank you to all the shareholders who have attended today. Thank you.