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Bank Australia and Qudos Bank have been given the go-ahead from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) following the previously announced intent to merge.
In February last year, the two customer-owned lenders signed a memorandum of understanding.
Since then, the lenders said a merger would see each retain original identities and simply allow for growth and scale.
Now that the merger has been approved, the matter goes to member voting to reach a decision. The lenders will now provide members with voting materials, including a member information booklet that sets out details of the proposed merger and the benefits to members.
Qudos Bank’s CEO Brendan Wright is excited by the approval from APRA and to provide a “more resilient bank for members.”
“I’m very pleased to announce that we have received regulatory approval to take the proposed merger to our respective members for their endorsement. Getting the green light from APRA means we can progress with our plans to create one of the largest customer-owned banks in the country, supporting 300,000 members with total assets of over $17.5 billion,” he said.
“Our aim is to deliver greater value to members today and into the future by taking a ‘best of both banks’ approach to the merger. This approach will provide immediate benefits to members via lower fees and charges on a range of products and services and an expanded branch network.”
Commenting further, Bank Australia’s managing director Damien Walsh said there has been ongoing collaboration and the change will see a “merger of equals”.
“Bank Australia and Qudos Bank share strong values, purpose and cultural alignment and this merger will allow us to create a better, stronger and more resilient bank for our members,” said Walsh.
“This merger will increase our ability to invest in better products, services and technology, while building on our commitment to create positive impact for people and the planet on behalf of our customers.
“A successful merger will give us the scale and ability to invest in a range of critical areas like digital experience, cybersecurity, and fraud detection and prevention technology to help keep our customers and their money safe. Our people will also benefit from enhanced career development and growth opportunities as a part of a larger customer-owned bank and we remain committed to 100 per cent Australian based employees, including contact centres.”
There will be no bank closures as a result of the merger.
More to come.
