ME Bank, also known as ME, is an Australian

direct bank A direct bank (sometimes called a branch-less bank or virtual bank) is a bank that offers its services only via the Internet, mobile app, email, and other electronic means, often including telephone, online chat, and mobile check deposit. A direct ...

based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. It became a subsidiary of

Bank of Queensland The Bank of Queensland (BOQ), formerly known as the Brisbane Permanent Benefit Building and Investment Society (BPBBIS) between 1874–1970, is an Australian retail bank with headquarters in Brisbane, Queensland. The bank is one of the oldest fi ...

in July 2021. Founded in 1994 as Super Member Home Loans (SMHL) by Australia's

industry superannuation fund An industry superannuation fund (or, simply, 'industry fund') are Australian superannuation funds that historically were established by Australian trade unions to manage retirement savings for workers in their industry. Funds other than industry ...

s, SMHL became Members Equity Bank in 1999, and received a banking licence from the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) in July 2001 and was approved by APRA to act as an

authorised deposit-taking institution Financial institutions in Australia are only permitted to accept deposits from the public if they are authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs). The ADI’s authority is granted by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) under the ...

, authorised to accept deposits from the public. Initially founded to offer access to home loan products, ME Bank today offers a range of low-cost banking products including home loans, savings accounts, credit cards, term deposits, and transaction accounts.

History

Industry Funds Services (IFS) was founded in 1994 by a group of industry super funds. Also in 1994, Super Member Home Loans (SMHL) was launched by the

ACTU The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...

in partnership with National Mutual (later to become

Axa Axa S.A. is a French multinational insurance corporation headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It also provides investment management and other financial services via its subsidiaries. As of 2024, it is the fourth largest financi ...

). The primary focus of SMHL was on providing home loans to Australian members of industry super funds. In 1998, SMHL achieved $1 billion in funds under management; and in 1999, IFS entered into an agreement with AXA to establish a 50/50

joint venture company A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to access ...

. In 2000, IFS and Axa launched Members Equity Bank Limited, that offered other banking products as well as home loans. Members Equity Bank obtained an Australian banking licence in July 2001, and was approved to act as an

, authorised to accept deposits from the public. In 2002, AXA withdrew from the joint venture, and Members Equity Bank became 100% owned by industry super funds. In 2003, Members Equity Bank obtained a financial services licence and began offering financial services, in addition to bank deposit accounts. Also in 2003, the bank achieved $10 billion in funds under management. In 2009, Members Equity Bank was re-branded to "ME Bank", and in 2015, 'ME Bank' was shortened to 'ME'. IFS continues to provide fee-for-service financial planning advice for members of industry super funds. In July 2021, the 26

s that owned ME Bank, including

AustralianSuper AustralianSuper is an Australian superannuation fund headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. It is an industry super fund, and so operates through a mutual fund structure. With over 340 billion of retirement savings under management and more t ...

UniSuper UniSuper is an Australian superannuation fund that provides superannuation services to employees of Australia's higher education and research sector. The fund has over 615,000 members and in funds under management, as of 30 June 2023. UniSupe ...

, Cbus, HESTA and Hostplus sold the bank to

for A$1.325 billion.Treasurer Approval for ME Bank Acquisition

21 June 2021

Controversy

In April 2020, ME Bank, owned by 26 industry super funds, altered the redraw facilities on certain legacy home loan products without prior notification to customers. This change reduced the accessible funds in these accounts, causing significant customer dissatisfactio

The bank stated that the adjustment aimed to prevent customers from inadvertently exceeding their original repayment schedules, which could lead to financial hardship. However, the lack of communication led to regulatory scrutiny from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA

In response to the backlash, ME Bank apologized and offered to reinstate the original redraw limits for affected customers upon request. Despite these efforts, the Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC) found the bank’s actions constituted serious and systemic breaches of the Banking Code, citing poor communication and failure to rectify longstanding system issue

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-08/me-bank-redraw-changes/1222908

The controversy culminated in the resignation of CEO Jamie McPhee in July 202

Retail banking services

ME Bank offers customers a range of banking products and services, including transaction account, transaction and

savings account A savings account is a bank account at a retail banking, retail bank. Common features include a limited number of withdrawals, a lack of cheque and linked debit card facilities, limited transfer options and the inability to be overdrawn. Traditi ...

s, home and

personal loan In finance, unsecured debt refers to any type of debt or general obligation that is not protected by a guarantor, or collateralized by a lien on specific assets of the borrower in the case of a bankruptcy or liquidation or failure to meet the te ...

term deposit A time deposit or term deposit (also known as a certificate of deposit in the United States, and as a guaranteed investment certificate in Canada) is a deposit in a financial institution with a specific maturity date or a period to maturity, co ...

s, and credit cards. ME Bank operates as a

and has no branch network. Services and support are provided over the phone, through

online banking Online banking, also known as internet banking, virtual banking, web banking or home banking, is a system that enables customers of a bank or other financial institution to conduct a range of financial transactions through the financial institut ...

, or by a mobile salesforce of banking managers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Me Bank Banks of Australia 1994 establishments in Australia Banks established in 1994 Superannuation in Australia

History

Controversy

Retail banking services

See also

References