A proposed merger between the Newcastle Permanent and the Greater Bank will be put to a vote today.
Eligible members with the Newcastle Permanent are the first to get their say on what could be the biggest corporate consolidation in the country’s history ahead of a Special general Meeting scheduled for November.
Both the customer-owned banks have confirmed both the Perm and the Greater as a merged entity will continue to remain 100% customer-owned by the more than 600,000 customers and its customer contact centres and headquarters will continue to be based in the Hunter.
Chair of Newcastle Permanent Board of Directors, Jeff Eather, said he encouraged eligible members to have their say.
“Given the changes in the financial services industry and evolving customer preferences, the Board believes that merging is the way forward, because each and every day we’re competing against the major banks and to do so successfully requires continuous adaptation of our business model,” said Mr Eather.
“Merging with Greater Bank represents an unparalleled opportunity to bring two iconic Hunter-based organisations together to create a financial powerhouse for the region. Our merged entity will benefit from our combined strengths, be a more resilient force in the market and enable us to continue to deliver the best value and service to our customers.
“The Newcastle Permanent Board of Directors unanimously supports the Merger, as does the Greater Bank Board of Directors, and we’re encouraging our members to also vote in favour of this proposal,” he said.
Members will receive information on the proposal and voting options from today.
The Newcastle Permanent also released its Financial Year 2022 result having again grown deposits and home loan approvals to end the year in a strong financial position.
Highlights include a record $2.6 billion in home loan approvals which is up 7% on last year, the home loan portfolio has frown to $9.8 billion, up 6.7% on last year, total assets grew 3.8% to $12.1 billion and customer deposits increased to $9.5 billion, up 6.7% on last year.