| 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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I transferred money from my Bankwest account to my son’s Commonwealth Bank account yesterday on Boxing Day 26th December 2014 for the first time – because Commonwealth Bank owns Bankwest will the transaction take the same amount of time to be processed as it would take when transferring from one Bankwest account to another Bankwest account?
Hi Wanda,
Thanks for your question.
Since Bankwest and Commonwealth Bank are still two separate financial institutions, it could take up to 1-3 business days for the funds to appear in your son’s account.
Cheers,
Shirley
Hi,
Just would like to know who owns the following banks and what affiliation they may have with any of the bigger banks?
bankmecu
Beyond Bank
Thank you!
Jacquie
Hi Jaq,
Thanks for your question.
bankmecu is owned my mecu Ltd 2012, and Beyond Bank Australia is a trading name of Community CPS Australia.
Cheers,
Shirley
Hi, I was wondering if you could tell me who owns the following banks:
Bank of Queensland
Bendigo Bank (merged with Adelaide Bank)
Hi Heidi,
Thanks for your comment.
Bank of Queensland is owned by Bank of Queensland Limited and have recently acquired Virgin Money Australia.
Bendigo Bank is owned by ‘Bendigo and Adelaide Bank’ and operates the Rural and Delphi Bank.
Cheers,
Shirley
hanks Shirley. I really wanted to know what vested interest, if any, the big banks have in these smaller banks. I found this in a forum….interesting stuff:
HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited is listed as the number one shareholder for all of the Big Four Banks. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings Plc – trading as HSBC BANK. They own 12.09% of Bendigo & Adelaide Bank and 17.00% of Bank of Queensland. They also own 17.46% of ANZ, 13.59% of CBA, 16.86% of NAB and 14.88% of WBC. Their annual report says HSBC made a profit US$7.1 billion before tax. As of 30 June 2010 it had total assets of $2.418 trillion, of which roughly half were in Europe, a quarter in the Americas and a quarter in Asia.
JPMorgan Chase & Co (trading as the American Bank) own 7.92% of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and 7.77% of Bank of Queensland. The American Bank thus owns: 14.51% of ANZ, 10.00% of CBA, 12.20% of NAB and 12.71% of WBC.
JPMorgan Chase had a $12 billion profit for 2009.
Citicorp Nominees Pty Limited own 2.13% of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and 2.57% of Bank of Queensland. The own 3.84% of ANZ, 4.30% of CBA, 4.57% of NAB and 4.79% of WBC. Citigroup suffered huge losses during the global financial crisis of 2008 and was rescued in November 2008 in a massive bailout by the U.S. government. Its largest shareholders include funds from the Middle East and Singapore. In the last two financial years, their core businesses, together known as Citicorp, were profitable with $10.6 billion and $14.8 billion in net income. The company holds over 200 million customer accounts in more than 140 countries. It is a primary dealer in US Treasury securities.
National Nominees is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Australia Bank Limited.
They own 6.35% of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and 10.87% of Bank of Queensland. They own 13.42% of ANZ, 8.81% of CBA, 11.46% of NAB and 10.47% of WBC. NAB had a net profit of $4.2 billion for 2009. …we certainly find it a little bit strange that they own less of themselves than they do of ANZ. This certainly deserves a “Please Explain!”
Hi Heidi,
Thanks for your question.
Unfortunately I can’t comment on the intention of the bigger banks as this information is not readily available for the public, but banks generally purchase shares from other banks for investment purposes.
Ultimately financial institutions try to increase their equity so they can give back to their shareholders or members.
Cheers,
Shirley