Bank of us leaves mark on Tasmanian finance

Ian Rogers

Bank of us chair Helen Galloway

Growing above system and benefitting from its association with the MyHome shared equity scheme in Tasmania, Bank of us doubled net profit to A$13.5 million over the year to June 2023.
 
The profit leap was all the more notable given an 18 per cent blow out in operating expenses, with staff costs up 13 per cent.
 
“The year under review recorded strong results in all areas of business operations with another year of strong improvement in loans, with loan approvals exceeding the previous record at $401 million, while the total loan portfolio grew by $140 million to $1.3 billion,” chair Helen Galloway and directors wrote in the review of operations.
 
This represents a rise of 12 per cent.
 
The profit “included a favourable movement in respect to the provision for expected credit losses … [and] revaluation” of Bank of us properties.
 
The group estimated its market share of owner-occupied home lending in
Tasmania increased to 10.32 per cent, a material rise from 7.68 per cent in 2022.

Deposits increased 9 per cent o $1.1 billion.
 
Bank of us said it “has not experienced an increase in bad debts, nor has there been any forward-looking information that indicates an increase in bad debts is likely. Provisions for expected credit losses therefore remain relatively low. 
 
“The number of loans under temporary modifications has not materially increased as a result of economic conditions.”
 
The bank said it is working towards receiving a second credit rating from S&P Global during the current year.
 
“The second rating will allow the bank to issue long term bonds with a duration of up to three years. These bonds are intended to support business growth without imposing on current wholesale funding limits.”