Tasmania. It's not just where we started, it's where we're staying.

Merger news in the finance sector this week begs an obvious question: What does it mean for Bank of us, if anything?

There is a long history in Australia of banks, building societies and credit unions changing ownership models, and coming together to enhance their sustainability and profitability.

Every bank needs to make a profit to be sustainable. It is a decision of the board and the executive how much profit should be sought and how it should be delivered.

In one way, Bank of us is no different. In many ways, we couldn’t be more so.

Let’s start with the most obvious thing that sets us apart: We are the last bank that operates only in Tasmania. This is not just where we started, it’s where we’ve stayed.

We are one of a very small handful of long-standing institutions established by Tasmanians to lift Tasmanians up to achieve their goals.

In our case, over 150 years ago, that was to help Tasmanians own a home at a time when other means of financial support was scarce.

We’re different because we are what is called a mutualised model – we are customer-owned – and that guarantees any profit we make, the positive impact we have, stays in Tasmania for Tasmanians. It doesn’t get shipped off to shareholders.

That means we can operate with a lower profit margin than our competitors and pass on more benefits to our customers.

It’s a banking model increasing numbers of Tasmanians are turning to. We now have more than 35,000 customers and our saving and lending books have more than doubled since we relaunched as Bank of us from B&E in 2017.

On the other hand, there is one important way we are the same as the others. Because of the way banks are regulated and the Government’s deposit guarantee, our customers have the same security and peace of mind as those with other banks do.

As to the future, our board and executive is clear about how we should generate profit and deliver a sustainable future.

We are committed to remaining a Tasmanian bank.

We are committed to support people to be more secure financially and to help more Tasmanians into a home.

We are committed to maintaining our network of stores.

And we are committed to supporting our customers – however they choose to bank with us – through a program of improvements to our digital products, as well as giving outstanding service in-store and over the phone.

So the merger news in the finance sector this week doesn’t really have a bearing for Bank of us.

Our plans are to stay put and focus on what we do best: Placing Tasmanians at the heart of banking.