Type Subsidiary Founded 1902 Area served Australia | Industry Banking Headquarters Brisbane, Australia | |
Formerly called Metropolitan Permanent Building Society (QLD)
Metway Bank (1959-1996) | ||
Suncorp Bank is a part of the Suncorp Group, with head offices in Brisbane, Australia. From its beginnings in 1902 as the Queensland Agricultural Bank, Suncorp Bank has grown into the fifth largest bank in Australia.
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History
The information in this section relates specifically to Suncorp Bank. For information relating to the group as a whole, see the history of the Suncorp Group.
State Government Insurance Office
Suncorp Bank commenced business in 1916 as the State Accident Insurance Office. Not long after, it changed its name to State Government Insurance Office (SGIO) and extended its operations into life insurance, general insurance and Compulsory Third Party. Over the years, superannuation, building society, and finance operations were added.
Queensland Industry Development Corporation (QIDC)
QIDC commenced operations in 1986, but evolved from the Queensland Agricultural Bank established in 1902. Initially operating primarily as a rural financier, QIDC expanded its activities to include commercial lending to small and medium-sized businesses.
Suncorp-Metway Merger
On 1 December 1996, the Queensland Government owned Suncorp and QIDC entities were merged into the publicly listed company Metway Bank to create the new allfinanz group Suncorp Metway. At the time of the merger, Suncorp and QIDC were 100% Queensland Government owned. Suncorp was operating as an allfinanz group with approximately $10 billion in assets, while QIDC had total assets of $3 billion. Metway Bank was Queensland's largest locally based bank with operations in New South Wales and Victoria. At the time of the merger, Metway Bank had approximately $7.1 billion in assets. It was established as the Metropolitan Permanent Building Society in 1959. In 1988, it converted to bank status and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). The Queensland State Government proposed the merger of the three companies to create a more competitive financial institution better geared to meet the needs of the future. The merger also created Australia's fifth largest listed financial services group with the associated economic benefits of a major Australian corporate headquarters located in Queensland. The merger and amalgamation of the three companies was completed in 1999. In May 1999, the new brand, Suncorp Metway, launched. This enabled the delivery of the group's resources under one banner, the streamlining of the product range and elimination of duplication in the branch network.
Reducing the State Government's share of the business
The state government was initially the largest shareholder of the new group with a 68% holding consisting of shares and capital notes in return for the sale of Suncorp and QIDC to Metway Bank; the other 32% was held by existing Metway shareholders. At the time, the state government indicated its intention to sell down its holding in stages within five years to no more than 15%. In September 1997, the State Government announced a public issue of 100 million Exchanging Instalment Notes giving preference to existing customers and shareholders of Suncorp, Metway and QIDC. On completion of the offer, the State Government's effective interest in the company was reduced to around 4%. The public paid $6.10 for the notes in two instalments and these exchanged for ordinary shares on 1 November 1999, increasing the number of Suncorp Metway shareholders from 36,000 to approximately 111,000. Twelve months later the State Government announced a total selldown of its shareholding through a second Exchanging Instalment Notes issue. Like the first notes issue, the second issue attracted considerable public interest and was substantially oversubscribed. The public paid $7.10 in two instalments, the second being paid on 6 November 2000. These notes were exchanged for ordinary shares on 31 October 2001.
No more 'Metway'
On 1 July 2002, the brand was simplified to Suncorp (i.e. Metway was dropped). This branding was used for everything done in Queensland, as well as for Banking and Wealth Management outside of Queensland. The GIO brand was used for general insurance business outside of Queensland.
A focus on the Bank
On 19 April 2009 Suncorp announced a rebranding of the banking arm of the company to Suncorp Bank. Whilst the brand name of Suncorp was well known within Queensland as a bank, re-branding to Suncorp Bank supported its expansion into other states. Today Suncorp Bank is Australia's fifth largest bank and a core part of the Suncorp Group. The Group's acquisition of the Promina Group further diversified its general insurance and financial services businesses, operating throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Recent events
In early 2009, Suncorp Bank launched the first iteration of their Mobile Banking App for the iPhone (mobile banking for Nokia phones had been available from April 2008). In December 2009, Suncorp entered into a partnership with Bendigo Bank to offer customers better access to ATMs. Suncorp customers would be able to use Bendigo Bank ATMs without having to pay the service fee, and Bendigo Bank customers would receive similar service at Suncorp ATMs. In 2013, Suncorp Bank completely redesigned their mobile App, to take into account recent advances available in mobile technology. 22% of Suncorp Bank's customer base currently use the App on a regular basis. In 2015, Suncorp Bank won Money Magazine's Bank of the Year. This was the first time that this award had been won by someone other than the 'Big 4' banks of Australia (Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Westpac, and National Australia Bank). Later that year, Suncorp Bank was awarded Best Bank in Australia as part of the global Euromoney Awards for Excellence.
Products and Services
Suncorp Bank offers the following financial services products:
Suncorp Bank serves its customers through its retail branch network, call centres, and mobile lenders. Customers can access their own banking information via Internet Banking, Telephone Banking or using the Mobile App.