Billion dollar milestone at ME Bank

ME Bank is kicking a few goals in its quest to develop the deposit side of its business, and a key strategic goal for a bank that until the credit crunch was more or less wholly dependent on wholesale markets, through securitisation, for its funding.

The bank in April 2010 passed the $1 billion milestone in household deposits, a superficial measure in itself but a reminder that it's not so long ago the bank had no deposit base to speak of.

In April ME Bank recorded growth of more than three per cent in household deposits (according to monthly APRA data) and compared with growth in deposits for all banks of only 0.5 per cent.

Over three months the rate of retail deposit growth for ME Bank, at 5.5 per cent, is in line with the sector's two other fast movers, Citibank and Rural Bank.

All three have emphasised new distribution and marketing strategies in recent months, and to some extent priced deposits to attract new money to their banks.

ME Bank is also achieving momentum in garnering business deposits, up 45 per cent in the month of April alone, to $504 million on the APRA data. Business deposits have doubled over the last six months.

Rabobank, which is also warming up a revival of its own "challenger" deposit product offering, recorded decent growth in inflows in April of more than two per cent.

ING Direct arrested the decline in its $17 billion deposit book over the month, following five months of declines.