Great Southern Bank

Great Southern Bank
FormerlyCredit Union Australia (CUA) (1980–2021)
TypeCredit union, member-owned bank
IndustryBanking, financial services
Founded1946; 76 years ago (1946)
FounderCredit unions and financial co-operatives.
Headquarters300 George Street, Brisbane, Queensland
Key people
ProductsBanking, investment, health insurance, home, car, travel and life insurance, financial planning
RevenueIncreaseA$ 196.1 million (2021)
DecreaseA$ 439.6 million (2021)
IncreaseA$ 297.7 million (2021)
Total assetsDecreaseA$ 18.784 billion (2021)
Members>5,400 (2021)
SubsidiariesCUA Health Limited (until 2021)
RatingLong term: BBB
Websitewww.greatsouthernbank.com.au

Great Southern Bank (formerly Credit Union Australia or CUA) is a customer-owned bank based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. As of 2013, it is the largest customer-owned financial institution in Australia. It offers banking and insurance services to 420,000 Australians.

Overview

As a mutual bank, Great Southern Bank is owned by its members. Great Southern Bank has over 40 branches located around Australia, largely on the east coast. Since its inception, the organisation has acquired a large portfolio of assets under management, whilst also investing in a number of co-operatives. Great Southern Bank is an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) under the Banking Act 1959 (Cth). Great Southern Bank is also supervised by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and has been granted an Australian Financial Services Licence and an Australian Credit Licence. Great Southern Bank has two fully owned subsidiary companies – CUA Health Ltd (Health Insurance) and Credicorp Insurance ltd (consumer credit insurance). Both the subsidiaries are non-guaranteed companies and have independent Boards and management teams. On 26 May 2021, it was announced that CUA Health Ltd would be sold to HBF.

History

The earliest precursor to Great Southern Bank was officially founded in 1946. It was created through the amalgamation of several small Queensland-based credit unions in the 1940s and had around 180 members in total. Since then, through the joining of more than 171 credit unions, it has become the biggest customer-owned bank in Australia.

Timeline

1946–1965 The origins of CUA can be traced back to a few small credit unions in the 1940s including the Catholic Thrift and Loan Co-op in 1946, the Thrift and Loan credit Union in 1948 and the postal Workers Co-op Credit Society in 1949.
1966–1975 After several mergers, in 1966 the Queensland Postal Cooperative (now CUA) was founded by staff of the General Post Office in Brisbane. The first loans were issued to a maximum value of $550. In 1968, the credit union's name was changed to the Australian Postal Credit Union and Mr Jack Harvey, a Post Master, was appointed General Manager on a full-time basis. In 1975 members' accounts were fully computerised and term deposits were introduced.
1976–1992 In 1976 the credit union purchased a travel agency to provide discount travel to members. In 1977, full insurance was provided including CUA Health. In 1978, it introduced 24-hour ATM access for members. It was officially renamed Credit Union Australia in 1980 and had more than 30 branches. Various amalgamations continued and between 1978 and 1992, Credit Union Australia (CUA) continued to introduce new products and services including 24-hour ATMs, financial planning, housing loans and VISA cards.
1993–2006 Credit Union Australia rapidly expanded its presence into Victoria, New South Wales, and Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia through various mergers. In 1996, fixed home loans were introduced to offer members an alternative to variable rate home loans. Following its merger with Australian National Credit Union (ANCU), Credit Union Australia became the country's largest credit union by membership, staff numbers and assets. Credit Union Australia was named Credit Union of the Year for four years in a row by the Australian Banking + Finance Awards.
2007–2010 In 2007 Credit Union Australia rebranded to CUA and merged with Victorian-based Plenty Community Credit Union in 2010 amassing more than 380,000 members - making it the biggest credit union in Australia. That same year the Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, credited CUA for bringing competition to Australian banking when it dropped its standard variable home loan by 25 basis points outside of any official rate movement. CUA was named Credit union of the Year at the Australian Banking + Finance Awards in 2010.
2011-2020 In 2012 CUA aimed to further differentiate itself from the Big Four by rolling out a number of new products. Alongside CUA Super and CUA Pension, it launched its CUA Rate Breaker Home Loan Package which offered a discounted one per cent lower interest rate than the average of the Big Four banks' variable rate. In 2013 the product won Best Innovator award from Australian Lending Awards 2013 and a 5-Star rating from CANSTAR. In 2012 the Youth eSaver account was launched, an online transaction account designed specifically for 10- to 17-year-olds.

In November 2013, CUA updated its whole core banking system to BaNCS costing around $60 million. In 2014, CUA won Best Non-Bank Lender and Best Mutual Lender at the Australian Lending Awards.

2021-2022 CUA is rebranded as a bank and changed its name to Great Southern Bank on its 75th anniversary. On August 9, 2021, Great Southern Bank announced that it was carbon neutral. On November 16th, 2021 Great Southern Bank adopted a new constitution to elevate its commitment to mutuality and to provide a simpler constitution. On February 14, 2022, Great Southern Bank launched a 10-episode podcast series called The Clever Way Home, hosted by Sophie Tieman, with the aim of demystifying the home buying process and helping first-time buyers.

See also


This page was last updated at 2022-06-12 12:20 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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