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Bankwest is an Australian full-service
bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
based in
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Western Australia. It was sold in October 2008 to the
Commonwealth Bank of Australia The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), or CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of financial services including retail, busine ...
for 2.1 billion and operates as a division of its parent company. Bankwest previously had branches in
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
,
Melbourne 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 met ...
and
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
.


History

In 1895, the
Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government o ...
established the Agricultural Bank of Western Australia as a rural lender to support the State's farming industries. Despite its name, it was technically not a ''bank'', in that it did not collect deposits from the public, its liabilities being government bonds. It was a government instrumentality that lent exclusively to farmers. In May 1916, the Agricultural Bank changed its name to the Rural and Industries Bank of Western Australia (also known as R&I Bank). In 1945, the Agricultural Bank became a full trading bank. This enabled it to expand its retail and commercial banking services throughout the state. In 1956 it became a savings bank, and in 1985 the first Sydney branch opened. The bank was incorporated in 1990, and then in 1994 changed its name to the Bank of Western Australia Limited, with the trading name Bankwest, in preparation for privatisation. In December 1995, the
Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by th ...
acquired the bank, and as part of the sale agreement, offered 49 per cent of the shares in Bankwest to the public. Bankwest shares listed on the Australian Stock Exchange on 1 February 1996. In 2001, Halifax Group (a large UK financial institution) merged with Bank of Scotland to form
HBOS plc HBOS plc was a banking and insurance company in the United Kingdom, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lloyds Banking Group, having been taken over in January 2009. It was the holding company for Bank of Scotland plc, which operated the Bank ...
. HBOS then acquired all the outstanding shares of Bankwest, making it HBOS's wholly owned subsidiary. In 2003, Bankwest announced the acquisition of API Finance from Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (API) for $300m in line with its industry specialisation growth strategy in the business banking segment. Late in 2006, Bankwest announced it would be leaving their
landmark tower A landmark is a notable geographical feature or building. Landmark, The Landmark, Landmark Building, or similar may also refer to: Places * Landmark, Manitoba, Canada *Landmark, Arkansas, United States * Landmark, Missouri, United States Art, ...
, in favour of a new complex at
Raine Square Raine Square is a property in the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. It is in a block bound by Murray Street, William Street and Wellington Streets. The square is named after Joe and Mary Raine. History The square was ...
. In early June 2008, reports began to circulate that HBOS intended to sell Bankwest. In September 2008,
Lloyds TSB Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an exte ...
bought HBOS in a deal worth over £12.2 billion. This was followed in October 2008 when, with significant problems of their own, HBOS/Lloyds TSB agreed to the sale of Bankwest and St Andrews Insurances to
Commonwealth Bank of Australia The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), or CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of financial services including retail, busine ...
(CBA) for an initial purchase price of 2.1 billion. After lengthy delays, the bank moved their headquarters in September 2012 to a new office building in the Raine Square complex called Bankwest Place.


Products and services

Bankwest offers a full range of banking products, including loans (home loans, car credits, personal loans), credit cards transaction and savings accounts. In 2007, Bankwest launched the Bankwest Regular Saver account for individuals. In 2012 Bankwest launched the
Student Edge Student Edge is an Australian student advocacy service, founded in 2003 in Perth, Western Australia by university students. The organisation currently has approximately 1,100,000 members. History Founding Student Edge claims to offer Australian ...
debit card linked to their Student account. In 2016, Bankwest terminated its share trading platform and all Bankwest online share trading accounts were closed on 31 May 2016. In February 2022, Bankwest announced it would stop offering business products and services and eventually shift existing business customers to Commonwealth Bank.


Branch closures

On 18 July 2018, Bankwest announced plans to close 29 branches in
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
,
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 ...
and
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
from 17 August to 7 September. Bankwest managing director Rowan Munchenberg said an overwhelming number of its customers were choosing to bank online, prompting the closure of the stores. In October 2022, Bankwest closed all its east coast branches. This was due to the majority of customers using digital channels to conduct their banking. The closures where also caused by a large decrease in the number of transactions being conducted in branch.


Controversies

In December 2011, a former Bankwest commercial client Geoff Shannon started an action group and website called "Unhappy Banking", after losing "all of iscompany and personal assets due to the predatory conduct of Bankwest". The group claimed that Bankwest "moved aggressively to reduce its exposure to small- and medium-sized commercial property clients" after being taken over by the Commonwealth Bank in 2008. After lobbying by Unhappy Banking, a Senate Inquiry was announced into banking practices on 14 March 2012. In August 2013 Shannon lost his case against Bankwest, with Supreme Court Judge Sackar referring to Shannon as an "unreliable witness". Shannon was also a discussed as a person of interest at the 2017 Primary Lending Senate Inquiry by Nationals Senator John Williams, stating " ank customersare in a desperate situation, so they put their faith in some of these people like ... Mr Shannon, and it all ends in tears". In 2015, ''The Weekly Times'' investigated Shannon for allegedly misrepresenting himself as a staff member of a law firm.


See also

*
Banking in Australia Banking in Australia is dominated by four major banks: Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group and National Australia Bank. There are several smaller banks with a presence throughout the country, and a large number of o ...
*
List of banks in Australia The following is the list of banks in Australia, as well as restricted ADIs, credit unions, friendly societies and subsidiaries and branches of foreign banks in Australia. Financial institutions in Australia are supervised by the Australian Pr ...
*
Timeline of banking in Western Australia The first commercial bank in Western Australia was created eight years after the establishment of the Swan River Colony in 1829. Entries in italics indicate a locally (W.A.) domiciled operation. Notes {{reflist External links *https://web ...


Sources

* Spillman, Ken (1989) ''Horizons: A History of the Rural and Industries Bank of Western Australia''. (Perth: University of Western Australia Press.)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bankwest 1895 establishments in Australia Banks established in 1895 Banks of Australia Companies based in Perth, Western Australia Former government-owned companies of Western Australia Commonwealth Bank