Being customer owned is something special. Geelong Bank is a 100% customer-owned bank and we take pride in our history of helping local communities and supporting our customers. The term “customer-owned” might not mean much to you – but it does mean one big difference. Unlike the Big Banks, our customers are also our owners, which each and every one is in the centre of everything we do.
The customer-owned banking sector in Australia consists of credit unions, mutual banks and building societies. According to COBA (Customer Owned Banking Association) collectively, Customer Owned Banks are Australia’s fifth largest Bank, holding over $106 billion in assets.
Retail banks are listed on the stock exchange for anyone to buy or exchange shares with little regard to their relationship with the bank. Shares of customer-owned banks however, are only attainable by opening an account with the bank. As such, all profits of the bank return to the customers – not to some faceless shareholder.
All customer-owned banks are Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) and are subject to strict supervision under the Banking Act. This means that although customer-owned banks are smaller in size, they still meet the high-standards of regulation as major banks.
We’re proud to be Geelong’s only Customer Owned Bank. We’ve been part of Geelong for over forty years, first as a Credit Union and now as a Customer Owned Bank. Geelong deserves its own Bank. Bring your banking closer to home!
