An American Samoa bank says it's having difficulty getting approval from the federal banking regulator to conduct many transactions.
The Territorial Bank of American Samoa, which is owned by the territory's government, opened in October, and has been providing accounts.
But until it gets a transit routing number from the Federal Reserve, it can't provide services such as cheques.
The bank's chief executive, Philip Ware, said getting a number was usually a two-week process, but his bank has been waiting since November.
He says he suspects the Federal Reserve has a problem with the fact the bank was owned by the government.
"I try very hard to make sure that they understand there's a barrier between the government and the bank, and the government will not influence us, nor will they get involved."