| Commonwealth Bank | Westpac | NAB | Bank of Queensland | Bendigo Bank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bankwest | RAMS | Ubank | Virgin Money | Adelaide Bank |
| Aussie (as a major shareholder) | St.George | MLC | Investec Bank | Delphi Bank |
| Colonial First State | BankSA | Bank of New Zealand | Home Building Society Ltd | Rural Bank |
| Bank of Melbourne | 86 400 | ME Bank | Up |
| Response | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| A competitive interest rate | 52.26% | 51.55% |
| A bank I know and trust | 43.42% | 43.97% |
| No restrictions on monthly withdrawals | 25.19% | 27.93% |
| A simple application process | 19.17% | 17.24% |
| The connected transaction account | 12.59% | 13.97% |
| A low deposit requirement | 10.9% | 11.03% |
| Extra features like round-ups or savings buckets | 3.76% | 4.14% |
| None of the above | 3.57% | 3.45% |
| Other | 1.88% | 2.76% |
For consumers looking for a better deal, it may be of concern that many of the alternative lenders are actually owned by the big three banks – Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and NAB. This matters, because the Australian government's Financial Claims Scheme (FCS), which guarantees the security of your money in banks up to $250,000 per institution, applies to a bank's subsidiaries as well. Without knowing which banks own what, your savings might not be as secure as you might think.
For example, let's say you had $250,000 in a savings account with ubank and another $250,000 in a savings account with NAB. Because ubank is owned by NAB, these two banks share the one banking licence. This means that the Australian government will only guarantee your deposit up to $250,000 with both ubank and NAB, not the full $500,000 you have deposited.
However, because ubank and Westpac are operating under different licences, if you had your $500,000 split between these two banks instead the full amount would be covered under the scheme.
There are some benefits to your bank being owned by a larger bank too. You usually get access to the larger banks ATM network all over the world, which is convenient and can also save you money in fees.
For example, St.George, BankSA, RAMS and Bank of Melbourne are all owned by Westpac. Westpac has the largest global ATM network with more 50,000 ATMs around the globe. If you're a customer of one of these smaller banks, you'll also get fee-free access to Westpac's huge ATM network.
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Now is the best time to start looking at the new bank account offers and promotions available. There is fierce competition between banks for your business so you should take advantage of this opportunity and get yourself a deal.
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Who owns IMB
Hi Zihad,
Thanks for your question.
The Illawarra Mutual Bank (IMB) has an ownership model that is structured as a mutual bank and thus it is member-owned. IMB is regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and is a member of the Customer Owned Banking Association which represents mutual banks, building societies and credit unions across Australia.
Cheers,
Anndy
Hi,
Just wondering whatever happened to Mutual Community Building Society, I know the health insurance division is now Bupa, but don’t know what happened to the building society arm.
Thanks.
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your question.
Unfortunately there’s not much information available to the public about what happened to Mutual Community Build Society. I’d recommend that you give ASIC a call on 1300 300 630 as they would be able to provide further assistance.
Who does ME Bank belong to? as I see they have the best interest rate at the moment.
Hi Anna,
Thanks for your question.
ME is owned by industry super funds and isn’t owned by a specific bank.
Who owns Illawarra Mutual Bank?
Sydney Bank?
RABO?
Suncorp?
Many thanks
Al.
Hi Alan,
Thanks for your enquiry.
Illawarra Mutual Bank (IMB)’s ownership model is structured as a mutual bank and thus it is member-owned.
IMB is regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and is member of the Customer Owned Banking Association which represents mutual banks, building societies and credit unions across Australia.
Thanks,
Belinda
Hi ty for you time, my question is, is the WeRe bank real an is it in operation in australia
Hi Renie,
Thanks for your question.
Were Bank is not registered with ASIC, so it’s not an authorised deposit-taking institution. In this case we’d recommend that you speak ASIC about it’s operation in Australia.
Cheers,
Shirley