Solomon Islands policy interest rate
Central Bank of Solomon Islands Policy Rate — a signalling rate introduced in 2026 as the Bank's primary monetary policy instrument, set by the CBSI Board alongside its semi-annual Monetary Policy Statement (published March and September; Board decisions in February and August) under the Central Bank of Solomon Islands Act 2012.
| Current value | 1.5 percent |
|---|---|
| In force from | 2026-02-19 |
| Official source | CBSI — Monetary Policy Statement, March 2026, §6 'Monetary Policy Stance' and Box A 'Introduction of CBSI Policy Rate': 'CBSI has decided to maintain an accommodative monetary policy stance over the next six months, with a newly introduced policy rate of 1.5%'; decision of the CBSI Board meeting of 19 February 2026, announced in Press Release No.3/2026 |
| Last verified | 2026-07-23 |
| Verification | primary — No verification limitation recorded — read from the official source cited. |
| Provenance | source fingerprint |
What this value means
CORRECTION TO THE LAUNCHING BRIEF. The brief stated that CBSI 'may NOT operate a conventional policy rate' and asked for a positively-established null. That was true until early 2026 but is now WRONG: the CBSI Board, meeting 19 February 2026, introduced a policy rate of 1.5% — the Bank's first-ever policy rate — and it is the current, official, primary instrument. The source wins over the brief. Box A of the March 2026 MPS: 'The introduction of a CBSI policy rate marks an important step in modernizing the Bank's monetary policy framework and strengthening its policy toolkit. The policy rate will serve as a key signalling instrument, guiding monetary conditions and enhancing the transmission of policy decisions to the broader economy. Consistent with international central banking practice, the policy rate is designed to support the Bank's primary objective of price stability.' Governor Dr Luke Forau, at the March 2026 press conference: 'Introducing a policy rate improves the clarity of our stance and strengthens the transmission of monetary policy to the broader economy.' IMPORTANT CAVEAT ON WHAT 1.5% IS: it is a signalling rate, not yet a fully operational corridor. CBSI says it 'will now begin establishing the systems required to support its effective implementation, including arrangements for remunerating commercial banks' cash reserves balances held with the Central Bank' — i.e. the transmission machinery is still being built. Do NOT confuse it with the lookalike rates, which are all much lower and are quantity instruments, not the policy stance: (a) the 28-day BOKOLO BILL weighted-average yield, CBSI's open-market sterilisation instrument, was 0.40% every month from December 2025 through June 2026 with issuance capped at $430 million — it is an auction-clearing yield on a capped issue in a structurally over-liquid banking system, not a policy signal; (b) Treasury bill WAIRs (56-day 0.75%, 91-day 1.16%, 182-day 2.39%, all frozen since December 2025) are GOVERNMENT paper issued by the Ministry of Finance under a $500m ceiling, not a central-bank rate; (c) the CASH RESERVE REQUIREMENT is a ratio on deposits, not an interest rate — CBSI eased it from 7.5% to 5% in June 2020 as a COVID measure and it has not been reset since (the original CBSI press release page cbsi.com.sb/press-release-cbsi-eases-cash-reserves-requirement/ now returns HTTP 404, so the 5% level is NOT re-verified here; required reserves stood at $342 million in June 2026 per the Monthly Economic Bulletin); (d) the indicative weighted-average commercial LENDING rate (8.67% at April 2026, 8.78% at December 2025) is a market outcome. Stance context: accommodative for the six months from February 2026; headline inflation 1.6% Dec 2025, core 0.9%; CBSI projects inflation falling to ~3.5% by June 2026 and ~3.4% at end-2026, and targets keeping it below 5%. NEXT DECISION: the Board reviews the stance every six months, so the next decision is expected around August 2026 with the September 2026 MPS — the 1.5% rate is therefore likely to be reaffirmed or changed within weeks of this confirmation date. ACCESS NOTES: the CBSI press-release permalink for PR No.3/2026 (cbsi.com.sb/press-release-no-3-2026-.../) returns HTTP 404 even though it is indexed; the MPS PDF is served reliably from the /sites/default/files/reports/ path but the /wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ path for the same filename 404s. The Governor's statement is also mirrored by the BIS at https://www.bis.org/review/r260311f.htm.
Get it programmatically
curl https://ausref.dev/v1/sb/policy-rate
# $0.001 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History: curl https://ausref.dev/v1/sb/policy-rate/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://ausref.dev/provenance/sb/policy-rateOther Solomon Islands series: VAT rate · minimum wage · public holidays · inflation rate (CPI) · corporate tax rate · income tax rates