FirstMac has been rebuffed on its latest tilt at securing a banking licence, a decision reached late last week with little fanfare.
Members of Maleny Credit Union waited the best part of a year for a decision on the bid by FirstMac - the largest non-bank lender in Australia - to acquire the mutual ADI and realise a long-held dream to compete as a fully-fledged bank.
Tony Ziemek, CEO of MCU Ltd on Wednesday shared the news with members.
"Late on Friday afternoon the Treasurer advised Firstmac that its proposed acquisition of MCU Ltd would not be in the national interest," Ziemek said.
"As a result, the sale process to Firstmac Ltd will not proceed. Maleny Credit Union will continue to operate independently and will seek an alternative acquirer."
Ziemek said "the primary reason given by the Treasurer relates to ownership issues that may have wider implications for the banking system. Arguments for community benefit and competition with the major banks have not been able to overcome this concern."
APRA and the Treasurer, though, may be getting closer to approving the entry of Hay Ltd into banking.
Hay will become the seventh neobank to secure a licence, if this happens, and if so it will take the form of a restricted authorised deposit-taking institution
Yesterday, Hay invited those on its waitlist to enrol as "founders", a number it says it will cap at 10,000, and conferring priority access on all new products.
Hay is yet to share word on the capital raising it was undertaking over recent weeks, a milestone it must meet to secure the licence.
Meanwhile Xinja Bank's own A$50 million capital raising - launched amid much fuss two weeks ago after shutting off access to its Stash account - closed off on the Equitise crowd-funding platform on Wednesday night.
The often publicity-eager Xinja is yet to share any news at its Community Forum or otherwise on how much was raised and on what terms.