Long before Kina Bank became one of Papua New Guinea’s biggest banks, it was something very different. A small financial services company started back in 1985 called Kina Securities.
Back then, most people in PNG didn’t think much about local financial firms. Banking and investing were mainly the domain of global brands and big institutions. But Kina had something others didn’t. It saw a view that people and small businesses in PNG weren’t being fully served by the traditional banking system. That idea would shape the institution for decades to come.
A major turning point came in 2015 when Kina listed on both the Australian Securities Exchange and the Port Moresby Stock Exchange under the ticker “KSL.” That dual listing put Kina on the map and proved to the world that a Papua New Guinea–based firm could meet strict global standards of governance and reporting. It was also a signal to local people that the company was ready for a bigger role.
Two of the biggest moves in the bank’s story came through acquisitions. Kina took on the PNG operations of Maybank PNG in 2015 and then, a few years later, acquired the retail, commercial, and SME banking operations of ANZ Bank. These deals didn’t just bring in customers and branches they gave Kina a real national scale and made it a serious challenger in PNG’s banking world.
By 2025, Kina Bank had become the second largest bank in Papua New Guinea after years of steady growth. It offers a wide range of services, including savings and transaction accounts, business and home loans, foreign exchange, SME lending, digital banking, and even stockbroking service. The latter is making it one of the leading brokers in the country’s capital markets.
Leadership has been a key part of this story. Ivan Vidovich, who became CEO in 2025, has been part of Kina’s transformation for years. Before him, leaders like Greg Pawson helped steer the bank through acquisitions and licensing, building the foundation for growth. What stands out is their approach. Kina hasn’t rushed. There’s no aggressive expansion or flashy headlines. The focus has been on strengthening systems, managing risk, building digital platforms, and making sure growth is sustainable. In a country like PNG, steady growth is sometimes stronger than fast growth.
As Mr Vidovich put it at a recent business event, “At Kina Bank, we have been working hard to improve the financial services landscape in PNG by making banking more progressive, accessible and convenient. This has been the cornerstone of our vision for the last five years.” That simple statement shows the bank’s wider goal, not just to grow, but to make finance easier for more people.
Numbers tell part of the story, too. In 2023, Kina reported an underlying net profit after tax of over PGK105 million, with strong growth in business lending and fees from digital services. Its capital levels remain strong, well above what the regulators require, showing that growth has not come at the expense of stability.
It also manages a huge amount of funds for customers more than PGK8 billion and administers accounts for hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries, making it the largest wealth manager and fund administrator in the country.
Kina’s footprint has expanded, too. From its headquarters in Port Moresby and branches in major centers, it has worked to bring banking services to more regional towns. Digital platforms like mobile and internet banking have brought services to customers who might never have stepped into a branch that matters in a country where infrastructure can make travel and access difficult.
That challenge of reaching people in remote and rural areas is one of the big tensions in the bank’s story. Many Papua New Guineans still work in informal jobs or small‑scale farming and have never had regular access to credit or even basic savings accounts. To include these customers, Kina has had to balance being inclusive with being safe and strong as a bank. They want to grow, but they also have to manage risk carefully, lending money responsibly rather than just expanding quickly.
Another part of its strategy has been building a strong internal team. Kina has invested in talent, training, and technology over the years. When it was listed in 2015, it even gave shares to every employee, a symbolic move to show that growth was a shared journey for the people inside the organisation, not just big investors.
The bank’s history has not been without bumps. There have been years of slower growth, and the wider economy in PNG has its own challenges. But through it all, Kina has kept a focus on what it calls “prosperity for communities,” which is more than a slogan, it’s part of how it chooses which products to build and which customers to serve.
Looking ahead, the bank faces some clear tests. Competition from larger institutions like Bank South Pacific will not go away. Bringing more rural and informal customers into the fold will require continued investment in digital and physical channels. As the economy changes, the bank will have to keep adapting its products to serve both individuals and growing businesses.
What makes Kina Bank’s story extra interesting is that it didn’t start as a big name. It began by seeing something most others ignored, that banking could be more than an elite service, that it could be part of everyday life for more people. Over forty years, it has moved from a small financial services firm to a diversified financial institution with deep roots in PNG’s economy.
Whether it continues to grow in the decades ahead will depend on how well it keeps blending careful business strategy with a sense of purpose, of making finance accessible to more people across the country. And that blend, numbers and narrative, growth and inclusion, is exactly what makes this story worth telling.
