The merger of Greater Bank and Newcastle Permanent, both with branches on the Central Coast, is a step closer, with the Boards of Directors of both institutions unanimously endorsing the proposal and recommending their respective members vote in favour of joining the two mutuals.
After announcing a Memorandum of Understanding last August to explore merging, Chair of Greater Bank, Wayne Russell, and Chair of Newcastle Permanent, Jeff Eather, have formalised the Boards’ support by signing a Merger Implementation Agreement (MIA).
The merger proposal will now be submitted to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority for review, before being put to members of both organisations at meetings likely to take place later this year.
Russell said both organisations have conducted extensive due diligence over the past five months and unanimously agreed the proposed merger is in the best interests of their respective member bases.
“The due diligence process has confirmed our initial view that this is the right time to bring together our two organisations, which in their own right offer exceptional financial strength built on years of solid performance,” he said.
“Combining our resources and financial strengths provides an unparalleled opportunity to grow and innovate, to deliver even better value for Greater Bank and Newcastle Permanent customers.”
The merged organisation would become one of Australia’s leading customer-owned financial institutions, keeping both iconic brands – Greater Bank and Newcastle Permanent – and serve a combined customer base of almost 600,000 people.
The combined entity will have $19.8B in assets and will bring together both organisations’ workforces with no forced redundancies for at least two years and maintain the Hunter-based customer contact centres and headquarters and all current branches for at least two years.
Eather said merging the two locally-grown mutuals would ensure long-term sustainability, without compromising either’s values.
“This is a highly compelling opportunity to grow and compete on our terms,” he said.
“Importantly, we remain fiercely committed to being customer-owned and continuing to invest profits for the benefit of our customers and the communities we serve.”
If the merger proceeds, it is proposed Wayne Russell will chair the merged entity and Jeff Eather will assume the role of Deputy Chair.
Newcastle Permanent Chief Executive Officer, Bernadette Inglis, will be Chief Executive Officer and Scott Morgan, currently Chief Executive Officer of Greater Bank, would be the entity’s Deputy CEO.
Further information is available on the Greater Bank and Newcastle Permanent websites.
Terry Collins