THE Retirement Fund will also ask the Superior Court to allow it to intervene in the government’s pending lawsuit against Bank of Saipan to protect its portfolio valued at $5.5 million.
Retirement Fund general counsel Kathleen Troy-Rucker said they may take the same position as Marianas Public Lands Authority which has already filed an application for intervention.
“I know that MPLA has filed an application for intervention, and I could say that we are considering taking a similar position,” she said. “Obviously, the Retirement Fund’s goal is to have access to the entire balance of its account there,” Troy-Rucker added.
The Fund has four time certificate deposits in Bank of Saipan, amounting to $5.5 million.
She said the bank offered the highest interest rate when the Fund solicited bid proposals from Saipan-based banks.
“The Retirement Fund has an absolute responsibility to do what it feels is in the best interest of the Fund and a lot of times, this means getting the best return of its money and investment,” she said.
Other banks offer an interest rate of 1.25 percent to 1.76 percent for TCDs. Bank of Saipan, which is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., offered over 3 percent.
“Before this whole situation came to light, Bank of Saipan was giving us the best interest rate for the amount of money that we were putting in,” Troy-Rucker said.
She said the $5.5 million is a reserve fund that their agency maintains on island to finance immediate or emergency operating expenses.
“This is money that we keep here. We do not put this somewhere else off-island. This is money that we keep available for our operating expenses in the event that we would need it,” she said.
