Two new mutual banks, each with assets of more than A$20 billion, start trading today, with the official completion of the mergers of Newcastle Permanent Building Society and Greater Bank, and Heritage Bank and People’s Choice Credit Union.
Newcastle Greater Mutual Group is the new name for the merged Newcastle Permanent and Greater Bank, while the merged Heritage and People’s Choice has yet to decide on a change of branding.
NGM Group has around 600,000 members and more than $20 billion of assets. It has the biggest capital base for a mutual, at $1.6 billion, and is the tenth largest Australian-owned bank for household deposits.
Both the Newcastle Permanent and Greater Bank brands are being retained and there is no change to customer accounts or banking details. NGM Group has committed to maintain branch numbers and not have any forced redundancies for two years.
Newcastle Permanent chief executive Bernadette Inglis is the group CEO.
The board is made up of four directors from each organisation. Greater Bank chair Wayne Russell is the chair.
Speaking to Banking Day last November, when members voted on the merger, Newcastle Permanent chair Jeff Eather said: “We need to keep growing to cover an increasing regulatory and tech cost base. Ongoing investment in technology and compliance is the new normal. The way we look at it, it is good for customers.
“By coming together with Greater Bank we will spend that capital once, not twice, and we will have more capital for growth opportunities.”
The merged Heritage Bank and People’s Choice Credit Union has 720,000 members, 1900 employees, 95 branches and more than $23 billion of assets.
Heritage Bank chief executive Peter Lock is the chief executive of the new organisation, with People’s Choice CEO Steve Laidlaw deputy CEO. Lock will retire in 18 months, when Laidlaw will be appointed CEO.
The board of the merged organisation is made up of equal numbers of Heritage and People’s Choice directors.
The new organisation will continue to operate under the existing Heritage and People’s Choice brands for an interim period.
The merged organisation committed to no branch closures and no redundancies below executive level. Dual head offices are being maintained in Adelaide and Toowoomba.
In a message to staff following the merger vote last November, Lock and Laidlaw said: “The merger will enable us to deliver more for our members through enhanced products, services, digital capabilities and competitive pricing.
“It will provide you with broader career opportunities and will enable us to do more t support our communities and the environment.”