American Samoa Banking Regulations Compliance Bill Introduced in Senate

The Lemanu-Talauega Administration has introduced a bill in the Senate aimed at complying with federal requirements related to government deposits currently required to be made into the Territorial Bank of American Samoa (TBAS).

Proposed Amendment Seeks to Allow FDIC-Insured Accounts

The proposed amendment seeks to allow for the deposit and maintenance of certain award funds received by the American Samoa Government and its semi-autonomous agencies, including:

• The American Samoa Power Authority
• The American Samoa Community College
• The American Samoa Telecommunications authority

in accounts insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Current Requirements and Challenges

Currently, local law requires that all government funds and deposits be deposited and maintained at TBAS without exception. However, federal regulations require that certain award funds received by ASG and its semi-autonomous agencies must be deposited in accounts insured by the FDIC.

The territory’s only bank, TBAS, is not federally insured, which creates a challenge for ASG in complying with federal requirements.

Proposed Amendment Aims to Simplify Compliance

The proposed amendment seeks to add a provision allowing government funds and deposits to be deposited with and maintained at TBAS unless otherwise specifically prohibited by:

• Federal statute or regulation
• Order of the courts of this and any other state or territory, or of the United States

The bill was introduced last week in the Senate and assigned to the appropriate committee for a hearing this week. It is expected to be introduced in the House in the coming days.

Current Workaround

ASG currently uses accounts at Zions Bank, a FDIC member based in Utah, to comply with federal requirements if necessary to deposit federal funds in a bank federally insured by FDIC. The proposed amendment aims to simplify the process and ensure compliance with federal regulations.