The country's largest mutual has announced a 19% increase in net profit after tax thanks to record lending.
CUA issued a record $1.81 billion in new loans for the first half, up 74.1% from H1-FY14 and loans under management were up 9.3% to a record $9.8 billion.
“This is a very solid half-year result and reflects benefits from our investment in areas that will enable CUA to keep growing sustainably,” CEO Rob Goudswaard said.
“We are putting the building blocks in place that will allow CUA to continue to grow as a modern mutual, to streamline processes and to improve the customer experience.”
Consolidated assets also hit a new record of $11.5 billion, up 11.6 per cent for the same period.
Non-broker channels were responsible for the majority of lending over the period, including CUA’s 59 branches but Mr Goudswaard said the volume of lending had brought with it higher operational and loan processing costs.
“CUA is continuing to invest in new technologies that have been made possible by the core banking system we introduced in 2013,” Goudswaard said.
“The core banking system is only half of the picture – we are continuing to invest in other applications, including a loan origination system that will streamline and enhance our loan processing capabilities and improve the customer experience.”
Goudswaard said falling interest rates, advances in payment technology and new digital players in the market all had the potential to change the banking landscape.
He sees three main opportunities for CUA, the first being its core banking system and loan origination system that is in development to improve their ‘operating rhythm’.
“Second, there is scope to increase CUA’s ‘share of mind’. We want CUA to be known for our alternative offering and want to attract customers that aspire to being part of the community we’re building,” Goudswaard said.
“Finally, digital technology presents huge opportunities and I believe CUA can, and will, become a leading player in the digital space in financial services in Australia.”
