THE Reserve Bank of Fiji transferred $47.8 million to the government yesterday.
A statement from the central bank said the amount comprised the bank's entire profits of $34.5m for the financial year ending 31 December 2011 and $13.3 million which represented one fifth of the balance of the Revaluation Reserve Account.
"The board of the Reserve Bank decided not to set aside any profit to General Reserves but instead transfer the full amount to government. The transfer to government in 2011 for the 2010 financial year was $38.9 million (profit was $21.5 million and one-fifth of the Revaluation Reserve was $17.4 million)," the statement said.
Governor and chairman of the RBF board, Barry Whiteside said the bank's financial performance in 2011 was achieved in a challenging global environment as interest rates were relatively low.
"The financial outcome in 2011 was significantly better than what was originally budgeted. This was due mainly to the higher than expected level of foreign reserves, which was $1.5 billion at the end of 2011 compared with $1.3 billion a year ago."