Tasmania’s only customer-owned lender, Bank of us, wrote $363 million in loans during the 2021/22 financial year, almost a 10% increase from the previous financial year.
Other financial year highlights for the bank included growing its loan book to over $1.11 billion, total assets increasing by 9.7% to $1.36 billion, funding $341 million of loans, recording 11% growth and increasing its customer base by over 32,000.
The bank now has seven retail stores state-wide and more than $1.36 billion in assets.
Bank of us CEO Paul Ranson (pictured above) said this outcome reflected the strong performance of the Tasmanian economy relative to other Australian states and a further increase in market share.
“The year’s great results also speak to our high-performance culture,” Ranson said. “We were able to write another record in loans while making sure we kept our retail stores open for our customers.”
Ranson said Bank of us achieved several unprecedented milestones during the financial year.
“These include a refreshed brand and campaign launch and replacing the Core Banking Host – a major technology project which was completed in May with a smooth transition from the old host to the new host,” he said. “Customers can enjoy the benefit of increased speed of our SmartBanking app and in-store transactional banking. We were also appointed as the lender for the Tasmanian Government’s enhanced shared equity program, MyHome.”
Ranson said the bank had recently developed a new five-year strategic plan.
“We have undertaken a major review of our strategic direction as it’s been nearly five years since our successful launch as Bank of us,” he said. “The key focus for the new five-year strategy is to build on our success of recent years of placing people at the heart of banking.”
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Bank of us chairman Scott Newton said after-tax profit for the bank was lower year on year due to several factors.
“We ended up with an after-tax profit of $5.1 million due to a declining net-interest margin arising from market competition,” Newton said. “There were also significant costs incurred in building capability and compliance driven operational projects.”
Both Ranson and Newton gave recognition to director and past chairman Keryn Nylander who retired by rotation from the board after 17 years of service in October 2021, along with long-term executive Susie Russell who retired after 39 years of service at the end of the financial year.
“Keryn was a driving force on the board for best practice corporate governance, business growth and contemporary marketing during a period where the business grew four-fold,” Ranson said.
“Susie made a massive contribution to our success by leading the delivery of many transformational initiatives that have enabled us to deliver enhanced value for our customers. She departs with our heartfelt thanks and best wishes.”
Ranson said he acknowledged the continued commitment and effort of its people in delivering a high level of service and remaining focused on what was important and necessary to make Bank of us successful.
“At the end of the day, we exist for the benefit of our customers who are also our owners,” he said. “We thank them for their ongoing and loyal support.”
