Wide Bay to convert to a bank 19 November 2014 4:27PM Ian Rogers Wide Bay Australia "will convert to a bank this financial year," chief executive Martin Barrett told the ADI's annual meeting yesterday.This option has been on the cards for some time, and is in line with shifts by some larger mutual ADIs.Business conditions "remain challenging, due mainly to strong competition," said Wide Bay Australia chairman John Humphreys.Even so, it recorded "nine months of loan growth" over the first nine months of calendar 2014, with growth maintained over the last quarter.Barrett told the meeting that Wide Bay would also "look for [acquisition] opportunities that make sense, offer capability and complement revenue growth" - a priority the Queensland-based entity has considered, with no success, for years.