Customer-owned bank unveils new name: People First Bank

What's now Australia's biggest customer-owned financial institution has unveiled a new name with a pointed message.

The mutual bank formed by the March merger between Heritage Bank and People's Choice Credit Union will be known as People First Bank, instead of Heritage and People's Choice, the bank announced on Tuesday.

“People First Bank says exactly what we are focused on – people,” chairman Michael Cameron said.

“Our new brand builds on the strengths and values of both organisations over our near 150-year history while standing out in today's highly competitive environment.”

People First Bank can trace its origins back to 1875 with the founding of the Toowoomba Permanent Building Society in 1875, which eventually became Heritage Bank.

People First has 730,000 customers, 2,000 employees and $23.3 billion in total assets, making it Australia's biggest customer-owned bank by both customer numbers and assets.

Chief executive Peter Lock said the new bank had always planned to develop a single brand following the merger, which he said customers overwhelmingly supported.

“We had no intention of adopting a multi-brand approach, as we have always aspired to create a strong new national brand that genuinely challenges the profit-maximisation model of the listed banks,” he said.

The first elements of the rebranding process will begin in March, Mr Lock said.

This year also saw the merger of Newcastle Permanent and Greater Bank into Newcastle Greater Mutual Group, the number two mutual bank by assets.

A report by KPMG into Australia's mutual banks, building societies and credit unions released last week predicted that consolidation in the sector would continue.

Darren Ball, KPMG national sector leader for mutuals, said it had been a positive year for the sector, with institutions generally successfully navigating the first wave of of the “fixed rate mortgage cliff” without a serious impact on loan performance.

Overall the mutual sector held steady with 2.7 per cent share of the total assets across authorised deposit-taking institutions, the same as last year.