The Bank of Melbourne is a

financial institution Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial insti ...

based in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

, established in 1989 and taken over by the

Westpac Banking Corporation Westpac Banking Corporation, known simply as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney, New South Wales. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, i ...

(Westpac) in 1997. In 2004, Westpac rebranded the Bank of Melbourne branches as Westpac branches. In 2011, Westpac resurrected the brand after rebranding its purchase of Bank of St George in Melbourne specifically and possibly in response to its initial closing of the brand.

History

The Bank of Melbourne was established in July 1989, following the granting of a banking licence to the RESI Statewide Building Society, with a listing on the

Australian Securities Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or confused within Australia as ...

following on 13 July 1989. The first chairman of the bank was Christopher Stewart, who chose Australian actor

Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to: Sports * Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City * Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Brig ...

to head the bank's TV advertising campaign, which ran for a decade. The bank focused operations on

retail banking Retail banking, also known as consumer banking or personal banking, is the provision of services by a bank to the general public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described as wholesale banking. Banking servi ...

, with a branch network and operations focused on the state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. As a former

building society A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially savings and mortgage lending. Building societies exist in the United Kingdo ...

, the bank was also heavily involved in lending in the residential property market. In 1996 the bank acquired the Victorian business of

Challenge Bank Challenge Bank was an Australian bank. It was established in April 1987 when the Hotham Permanent Building Society of Victoria and Perth Building Society of Western Australia merged. In December 1995 it was purchased by Westpac. In May 1996, the ...

from Westpac for A$659.7 million, making the Bank of Melbourne the fourth largest regional bank, and the eighth largest of all listed banks in Australia. By this time the Bank of Melbourne also held 9.6% of the Victorian lending market, 11.6% of the Victorian deposit market, and operated a network of 125 branches, predominantly in Melbourne. On 3 April 1997, Westpac made a $1.43 billion bid to acquire the Bank of Melbourne. At the time, Westpac had a branch network almost twice as large in Victoria as the Bank of Melbourne (212 branches), but a smaller share of the local lending and deposit markets (8.6% and 9.1% respectively). The proposal required the approval of the

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the chief competition regulator of the Government of Australia, located within the Department of the Treasury. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Tra ...

, the

Reserve Bank of Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. It has had this role since 14 January 1960, when the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank. T ...

and the

Treasurer of Australia The Treasurer of Australia (or Federal Treasurer) is a high ranking official and senior minister of the Crown in the Government of Australia who is the head of the Ministry of the Treasury which is responsible for government expenditure and ...

; these being given by July 1997. On 29 September 1997 a vote was held for ordinary Bank of Melbourne shareholders to approve the proposal, with holders of over 96% of the shares approving the takeover. Westpac retained the rights to the Bank of Melbourne name and logos, and operated in Victoria under the Bank of Melbourne brand until January 2004, when Westpac moved all operations to a single national brand name. In 2009, speculation suggested Westpac was to relaunch the brand for a new internet-based deposit business, but with no resulting action. In July 2011, the relaunched Bank of Melbourne commenced operations as a subsidiary of Westpac.

References

{{Westpac Westpac Australian companies established in 1989 Banks established in 1989 Former building societies of Australia History of Victoria (Australia)

History

See also

References