Bank of Melbourne (2011)

Bank of Melbourne
Subsidiary of Westpac
Industry Banking, Financial Services
Founded Relaunched: 25 July 2011
Headquarters Melbourne, Australia
Number of locations
 107
Area served
 Victoria, Australia
Key people
 Michelle Winzer (Chief Executive)
Elizabeth Proust (Chairman)
Penny Fowler (Board Member)
Peter Hawkins (Board Member)
Nick Reade (Board Member)
Cathy Yuncken (Board Member)
Products Personal Banking, Business Banking
Number of employees
 1200 plus
Parent Westpac
Website www.bankofmelbourne.com.au
Bank of Melbourne branch in 2011.

Bank of Melbourne is a financial institution operating in Victoria, Australia. A subsidiary of the Westpac Group, it was re-established as a separate entity, and re-commenced operations on 25 July 2011.

The "new" Bank of Melbourne initially rebadged the Victorian business of St.George Bank, another wholly owned subsidiary of Westpac, as part of a major local branding strategy. The customer-facing activities of the business operate independently of the Westpac Group. Westpac has owned the Bank of Melbourne, and the rights to the brand, since its acquisition of the bank in 1997.[1]

History

The RESI Statewide Building Society was granted a banking licence and established the Bank of Melbourne in July 1989, listing it on the Australian Stock Exchange on 13 July 1989. In 1996, the bank acquired the Victorian business of Challenge Bank from Westpac.

On 3 April 1997, Westpac made a $1.43 billion bid to acquire the Bank of Melbourne; on 29 September 1997, holders of 96% of the ordinary shares of the Bank of Melbourne voted to approve the proposal. Conditions of approval for the takeover required Westpac to continue operating the entity as the Bank of Melbourne for three years.

The entity traded under that brand name until January 2004, at which point the brand name was replaced with Westpac.[1]

In 2008, Westpac merged with the St.George Bank.

In 2011, Westpac relaunched a redesigned Bank of Melbourne brand, trading with the infrastructure and employees of St.George Bank in Victoria and led by Chief Executive Scott Tanner.[2][3] Bank of Melbourne's logo is a navy blue shield. The shapes reflect the architecture of Melbourne[4] and navy blue is the colour of the state of Victoria. The logo was created by Ogilvy Australia and Designworks.[5]

Since 2011, the bank has expanded its network of branches in Victoria, and has a presence in each of the state's 5 primary urban centres: Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Shepparton. It has a local executive team and Advisory Board, as well as a CBD call centre to serve customers. The bank relocated its head office to the redeveloped Rialto building on Collins Street in May 2017.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Mark Russell (30 January 2004). "Bank of Melbourne to lose its identity". The Age. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  2. ↑ Chris Gillett (10 March 2011). "Westpac relaunches Bank of Melbourne". Herald Sun. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Malcolm Maiden (11 March 2011). "Bank of Melbourne revived as Westpac goes back to the future". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Designworks - Bank of Melbourne". Retrieved 2014-12-06.
  5. ↑ "Ogilvy Australia | Bank of Melbourne Launch". Retrieved 2014-12-06.
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