Banking on a bright Tasmanian future

Bank of us has embarked on a strategy for growth, committing to remaining truly Tasmanian and adding 20 jobs to its payroll.

Chief Executive Officer Paul Ranson said the investment in people would add capacity in key areas of the business, supporting Bank of us’s promise of quality service and products to customers as the business grows.

Mr Ranson said the Bank’s performance was supported by the great work of its people.

“That’s such a credit to our people and the great culture we’ve been able to build, which puts our customers at the heart of what we do,” he said.

Mr Ranson said the additional jobs would be introduced in a staged way over FY2025.

“The existing team at Bank of us has achieved great things, but we will need to scale up in key areas – such as technology – to support further growth.

“It is really exciting being able to introduce new people to a business which is very much a Tasmanian success story.”

Bank chair Helen Galloway said the bank’s customer-owned model represented an important point of difference to other financial institutions.

“When we grow the value created stays with our customers, here in Tasmania,” she said. “It doesn’t get shipped off to shareholders.

“The savings people deposit with us are used to help other Tasmanians realise their dreams through home, personal and business loans.

“Since B&E relaunched as Bank of us in 2017, we’ve had a sustained period of growth in the number of people we serve, in the savings we hold and in loans we’ve issued.”

“The Board and the Executive believe we can continue that track record, and we are committed to doing it in Tasmania for Tasmanians.”

Bank of us posted a series of solid results for FY2024 including record loan book growth of $172 million (to a total $1.44 billion) – an increase of 13.5% on the prior year.

Profit for the year was $6.86 million (after tax) and the number of active customers passed the 35,000 mark.

Mr Ranson said Bank of us was also proud to have delivered the dream of home ownership to more than 1000 Tasmanians through its role as partner lender to the Government’s MyHome shared equity program.

Mr Ranson said the bank’s goal was to grow Tasmanian market share using its personalized service and network of physical stores as points of difference, along with competitive rates on deposits and lending.

“Bank of us is keeping with the times with upgrades to internet banking and our app in the past 12 months,” Mr Ranson said. “But we also appreciate many Tasmanians prefer face-to-face or phone banking support from locals.

“Along with our financial results, we also measure ourselves in the way we support our customers. Across the 2024 financial year, we supported our customers in store, by email or phone more than 15,000 times a month, and our average wait time for phone support was just 1m.24s.

“Our goal is to engage with our customers in whatever way suits their needs – whether that’s digital access around the clock or if they need someone to give them a hand.”

“We think these principles are reflected in a recent survey which indicated a 97% customer satisfaction rate, compared with 89% for the customer-owned sector and 78% for the sector more broadly.”  

Bank of us has 35,000 customers, seven retail stores statewide and more than $1.73BN in assets.

Media contact: Jason Purdie, 0455 838 945