Bankwest is an Australian

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, 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 m ...

based in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia. It was founded as the Agricultural Bank of Western Australia in 1895 by the

Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia is the States and territories of Australia, Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government or the Western Australian Governmen ...

being renamed the Rural and Industries Bank in 1944, and Bankwest in 1994 before being privatised. After a period of being a

listed company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange ( ...

on the

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

, it was taken over by the

Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial bank, commercial and clearing (finance), clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group. The bank was established by the Par ...

, and since 2008 has been a subsidiary of the

Commonwealth Bank The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), also known as Commonwealth Bank or simply CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of fi ...

. Having expanded into the Eastern states in the 1980s, it closed the last of these branches in October 2022. The remaining 60 branches in Western Australia will be closed by the end of 2024 with 15 being converted to Commonwealth Bank branches. Bankwest will then become an online bank only.

History

Agricultural Bank era

In 1895, the

established the Agricultural Bank of Western Australia as a rural lender to support the state's farming industries. Despite its name, it was not a bank, as it did not accept

deposits A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, current accounts or any of several other types of accounts explained below. ...

from the public, its liabilities being

government bond A government bond or sovereign bond is a form of Bond (finance), bond issued by a government to support government spending, public spending. It generally includes a commitment to pay periodic interest, called Coupon (finance), coupon payments' ...

s. It was a government instrumentality that lent exclusively to farmers.Our journey
Bankwest

Rural & Industries Bank era

On 1 October 1945 pursuant to the ''Rural and Industries Bank Act 1944'', the Agricultural Bank changed its name to the Rural and Industries Bank of Western Australia becoming a full trading bank. This enabled it to expand its retail and commercial banking services throughout the state. Its headquarters were at the former Agricultural Bank headquarters at 555 Hay Street, Perth. In 1956 it became a

savings bank A savings bank is a financial institution that is not run on a profit-maximizing basis, and whose original or primary purpose is collecting deposits on savings accounts that are invested on a low-risk basis and receive interest. Savings banks ha ...

. In March 1961, its headquarters moved to a purpose building in Barrack Street. In 1973, a 45% shareholding in Perpetual Finance Corporation was purchased increasing to 100% in 1978. A major shareholding in the Town & Country Permanent Building Society was also purchased in 1973. In 1985, the first interstate branch was opened in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. In June 1987, the Primary Industry Bank of Australia became a subsidiary. In August 1987, the Teachers' Credit Society was taken over in a

bailout A bailout is the provision of financial help to a corporation or country which otherwise would be on the brink of bankruptcy. A bailout differs from the term ''bail-in'' (coined in 2010) under which the bondholders or depositors of global syst ...

. In 1988, the headquarters moved to 108 St Georges Terrace, which was the tallest building in Perth at the time.

Bankwest era

The bank was incorporated in 1990, and in 1994 changed its name to the Bank of Western Australia with the trading name Bankwest, in preparation for privatisation. In December 1995, the

acquired the bank, and as part of the sale agreement, offered 49 per cent of the shares in Bankwest to the public. Bankwest was listed on the

(ASX) on 1 February 1996. In May 2001, Bank of Scotland merged with Halifax to form

HBOS HBOS plc is 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, Bank of Scotland plc, which ...

. In August 2003, HBOS completed a successful takeover offer for the shares it did not own with Bankwest delisted from the ASX. In 2003, Bankwest acquired API Finance from Australian Pharmaceutical Industries for $300 million in line with its industry specialisation growth strategy in the business banking segment. In October 2006, Bankwest announced it would move its headquarters from 108 St Georges Terrace to 300 Murray Street. After lengthy delays, the move occurred in September 2012. Bankwest's lease expires in 2031. In September 2008, Bankwest was included in the sale of HBOS to Lloyds TSB. The following month, with significant problems of its own during the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, Lloyds TSB agreed terms to sell Bankwest to the

for $2.1 billion. The sale was completed in December 2008. Bankwest's business banking operation was closed and its customers moved to the Commonwealth Bank, sparking a

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

inquiry. In February 2022, Bankwest announced it would stop offering business products and services and eventually shift existing business customers to the Commonwealth Bank.

Branch closures

In July 2018, Bankwest announced plans to close 29 branches in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Victoria and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

citing that an overwhelming number of its customers were choosing to bank online. In October 2022, Bankwest closed all its east coast branches. In March 2024, Bankwest announced that it will close all remaining 60 branches and

automated teller machine An automated teller machine (ATM) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, funds transfers, balance inquiries or account ...

s (ATMs) by the end of 2024 and become a

digital bank A neobank is a type of direct bank that operates exclusively using online banking without traditional physical branch (banking), branches. They challenge traditional banks. In contrast to direct banks, in many cases, neobanks do not have their ow ...

. Fifteen regional branches will be converted to Commonwealth Bank branches and 45 closed. Cash transactions will be available via other banks' ATMs and

Australia Post Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation and also known as AusPost, is an Australian Government-State-owned enterprise, owned corporation that provides postal services throughout Australia. Australia Post's head office is loca ...

Sponsorships

Bankwest was

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

sponsor of the

Fremantle Football Club The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers or colloquially Freo, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represen ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. In 2018, Bankwest signed a seven-year contract to be the naming rights sponsor of Western Sydney Stadium. However, after only three years, the contract was taken over by the Commonwealth Bank and the stadium rebranded CommBank Stadium.Bankwest Stadium becomes CommBank Stadium as CBA secures naming rights
'' Mumbrella'' 21 September 2021

References

External links

* {{Lloyds Banking Group Bank of Scotland Banks established in 1895 Banks of Australia Commonwealth Bank Companies based in Perth, Western Australia Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Former government-owned companies of Western Australia Lloyds Banking Group 1895 establishments in Australia