AWA Alliance Bank, a Geelong-based former credit union, is seeking to disassociate from the Alliance Bank network of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, and amalgamate with Beyond Bank.
For around a year, Bendigo has been seeking to unwind its Alliance Bank network (which serves five former small credit unions) and to fold the Alliance banks into its Community Banking network.
The board of directors of AWA, however, have concluded this isn’t for them or their members.
“In December last year we wrote to AWA members to advise of some emerging changes for our organisation as a result of Bendigo notifying AWA that it did not intend to renew the current Alliance Bank agreement upon its expiry in 2025,” AWA chair Peter Richardson and CEO Gavin Heathcote wrote to the mutual’s members in a letter last week.
“The board and CEO have been working closely with Bendigo to identify and consider a different operating model for our members and at the same time completed a deliberate and planned process to evaluate other banking arrangements that may also be available.
“This review has been extensive and has had a clear focus on our members, people and communities and has valued the importance of being a member owned organisation.
“This process has now concluded and the AWA Board have unanimously agreed to recommend to members that AWA proceed with a merger with Beyond Bank Australia by way of a Scheme of Arrangement.”
AWA said it has commenced working with Beyond and Bendigo towards obtaining the regulatory and court approvals, a process that may take four months.
Once this process is complete, AWA Mutual Limited members’ banking business will transfer to Beyond Bank.
At this point, there is no sign that any of the other four Alliance Bank partners - BDCU, CIRCLE, NOVA and Service One – are planning to follow AWA’s lead.