Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The President and CEO of the Territorial Bank of America Samoa, Dave Buehler has stepped down and left the territory. His departure was announced in a TBAS press release earlier this month, according to media reports. No date was specified as to his leaving.

Buehler has been at the head of the government owned bank since January of 2020.

The position of TBAS Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is currently being advertised on the bank’s website: mytbas.com — it’s unknown what other avenues of recruitment the bank is using to get a new CEO.

Meanwhile, during the transitional period, Owen Peery was announced as the bank’s Acting President & CEO. He is their Chief Operations Officer at the bank.

There was no reason given for Buehler’s departure.

In June of this year, Gov. Lemanu P. S. Mauga had asked the TBAS Board and the Office of Financial Institutions to remove Buehler, citing the failure of the bank to submit an audited financial statement for Fiscal year 2022, which he said impacted ASG’s government wide audit, its obligations to bond investors, and could possibly affect the territory’s credit rating.

The Board voted against removing Buehler.

In asking the OFI to remove Buehler, Lemanu requested that OFI “file a complaint for suspension or removal” of the CEO due to his failure to meet the requirements of the law to “effectively and efficiently manage the bank.”

A hearing of the complaint was scheduled for Buehler to appear before OFI in August, but it was postponed to a later date, according to the head of the OFI, John Marsh when Samoa News inquired as to hearing date in July.

Samoa News understands no OFI hearing was held prior to the announcement that Buehler was stepping down, and the Governor’s Office has made no formal announcement about Buehler’s departure.