Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The governor’s nomination of Ruth Matagi as member of the Territorial Bank of American Samoa’s Board of Directors was approved by the Senate last Wednesday in a vote of 14-1.

During her confirmation hearing, Senator Poumele Pete Poumele advised her that if she is confirmed, she should recommend to the governor that a new president and CEO for TBAS should be selected as the position has been vacant now for eight months.

He said if they can't find a suitable candidate, then Owen Peery who has been acting president and CEO should be appointed.

Matagi who is currently the president of the Development Bank of American Samoa was then asked by Senator Utu Sila Poasa, if there would be a conflict of interest if she was confirmed to be a TBAS Board member.

She replied that she had been a Board member since its establishment in 2014 and that she hadn't experienced any situation where a conflict of interest had hampered her roles in the two institutions.

She explained that the difference between the two banks was that at DBAS, there were no deposits and all DBAS funds were kept in accounts at TBAS.

On the other hand, TBAS exists to help the public manage and safe keep their finances, they also have special programs to help local business people, whereas the main function of DBAS was to help develop small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Senate President Tuaolo Manaia Fruean asked Matagi if the governor had approached her if she wanted to continue serving in the Board and she replied that there had been no communication between her and the governor and that she was surprised when she received notice of her reappointment.

Tuaolo commented that the governor should ask his nominees to government posts if they wanted to serve instead of notifying them after the fact that they have been nominated.

He said he was not sure how they should base their decision on whether or not to confirm her because she just revealed that she had not been anticipating her reappointment, then he asked her point blank if she wanted to continue as a TBAS Board member. Matagi answered yes, and Tuaolo said he had no more questions.

The differences of how the two banks — TBAS and DBAS — serve the community is not at the heart of the conflict of interest cited in federal regulations, and while both banks are not FDIC insured, TBAS needs a Federal Reserve account to operate.

Under Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Section 1261.10 — it states that during an “independent” director’s term of service, “such director shall not serve as an officer, employee, or director of any member of the Bank on whose board the individual sits, or of any recipient of advances from such Bank, and shall not serve as an officer of any Bank.”

As the President of DBAS, Ruth Matagi is an officer of another bank, and as she told the senators all DBAS funds are kept in accounts at TBAS, under local law (Section 28.0214 of the American Samoa Annotated Code). She is literally serving on the board of the bank (TBAS) to which her bank (DBAS) deposits their money.

LEILUA STEVENSON

At the start of the hearing, Senate Rules Committee Chairman Senator Magalei Logovi'i informed members that they would proceed with the confirmation hearing for Ruth Matagi because the other nominee Leilua Stevenson could not attend because she was sick.

However, Senator Soliai Tuipine Fuimaono intervened saying that he had met Ms Stevenson and she had told him that she doesn't want to serve on the Board anymore. She also said that she already informed the chairman of the TBAS Board, Senator Togiola Tulafono about this.

The matter was again raised by Senate President Tuaolo Manaia Fruean towards the end of the hearing and he said that if anyone appointed by the governor no longer wants to serve, they should do the right thing and inform the governor — thank him for the honor and tell him that they can no longer serve, due to whatever reason.

During the Senate session, Togiola requested that the Senate delay a decision on Ms. Stevenson's reappointment pointing out her experience and knowledge in Finance is needed on the Board.

He said he had talked with her and she told him that she was afraid to appear before the Senate.

Togiola stated that he was not sure why she would feel intimidated but he was sure she would come around given time. 

Sen. Togiola is the Senate’s appointed representative on the TBAS board of directors and is the current president of the TBAS board.