During Dave Taylor’s 11-year tenure as CEO, G&C Mutual Bank has achieved an outstanding turnaround in financial performance. On his retirement from the position of CEO, we look back on some of the key achievements under Dave’s leadership.
Becoming G&C Mutual Bank
On 1 December 2014, the change of name from SGE Credit Union to G&C Mutual Bank marked the start of an exciting new era for your bank. G&C Mutual Bank was re-positioned to highlight its customer owned proposition – a different kind of bank, owned by its members and operating solely for their benefit.
“Our aim is to develop a brand that’s more accessible to a younger audience, while at the same time emphasising the benefits of our ‘mutual banking’ model,” said Dave in an interview for The CEO Magazine, June 2014 edition.
Our members expressed a strong preference for a name that reinforced our proud history of serving communities across state government workplaces and regional communities. The letters “G” and “C” reinforced the fundamental pillars on which our business has been built over many years – including our commitment to serving the needs of Government employees and regional communities, our focus on growth for the benefit of our members, and our continuing efforts to work collaboratively with other mutual financial institutions. Reflecting both our past and our exciting future as a member-owned bank, the new branding introduced the tagline: Banking on your community. G&C Mutual Bank joined the ranks of the thriving ‘Mutual Bank’ sector, comprised of Australia’s largest and most successful member-owned financial institutions.
Relocating the Sydney Head Office and Service Centre
With its new name and branding, G&C Mutual Bank relocated its Sydney Service Centre and Head Office from Clarence Street to its current premises at Level 25, 201 Elizabeth Street. The Sydney Service Centre provides a more user-friendly and member-focused environment with improved services and facilities.
The Quay Credit Union merger
In 2016, the completion of G&C Mutual Bank’s merger with Quay Credit Union combined the strengths and proud histories of the two organisations and provided a platform for further growth and innovation leading to improved products and services for our members.
G&C grows from strength to strength
Also in 2016, G&C Mutual Bank achieved record loan growth and, to this day, remains one of very few banks with no dependence on mortgage brokers for home loan origination. A new suite of ‘Fair Rate’ personal loans was developed, providing an innovative product with risk-based pricing designed to reward our most loyal and creditworthy borrowers with lower interest rates.
Dave was instrumental in developing a close partnership with SocietyOne, Australia’s first and most successful “marketplace” lender, under which G&C Mutual Bank funds loans originated via SocietyOne’s online platform. It was a great success and helped drive a doubling of G&C’s Personal Loan portfolio, a portfolio that had previously been on a downward trend for 15 years.
The ability to expand third party origination channels and develop relationships with Plenti, Lannock, and MedPro has further bolstered G&C Mutual Bank’s success year on year. Growing from strength to strength, G&C Mutual Bank achieved dual external credit ratings from Moody’s and S&P (Standard and Poor’s) which have helped deliver cheaper funding to underpin our suite of loan products. As at 2020, G&C Mutual Bank had the best Cost/Income ratio and Return on Assets (ROA) of all mutual ADIs and has just finished the 2020/21 FY with the second highest annual loan growth (at 17.5%) in the Mutual sector.
Supporting first home buyers
In 2017, G&C Mutual Bank re-launched the specially designed and discounted home loan for first home buyers (to help first home buyers compete in what is becoming a very challenging market for younger borrowers), and a Basic Home Loan, designed for new borrowers who would forfeit some of the ‘bells and whistles’ to access a more attractive interest rate. Our support for first home buyers has continued to grow and G&C Mutual Bank is proud to be a participant lender in the Federal Government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, New Home Guarantee, and now the Family Home Guarantee initiatives to help even more Australians realise the dream of home ownership.
Investing in digital access channels
In 2018, Dave oversaw significant investment in G&C Mutual Bank’s digital access channels, with the implementation of the New Payments Platform (NPP), further improvements to our Mobile App and online services, the introduction of fraud prevention tools and a new phone centre with extended operating hours. All these initiatives have enabled our members to conduct their banking activities whenever and wherever they choose, backed by reliable and secure technology, innovative products and personalised staff support.
G&C Mutual Bank was one of the first non-major banks to implement the NPP, thereby ensuring that our members would be among the first to benefit from real-time payment services. The ability of G&C Mutual Bank to successfully launch this new payment technology by the February 2018 start date was a major achievement that demonstrated our member-first ethos.
Additionally, in 2019, we invested in upgrading our website to responsive design, allowing better engagement with mobile users and more accessibility for those using assistive technology. G&C Mutual Bank also became the second Australian bank to implement the ".bank" domain across its website and emails, providing immediate visual trust for our members and helping to mitigate cyber security risk.
Maintaining conservative lending and putting our members first
G&C Mutual Bank’s commitment to maintaining conservative lending standards, our focus on customer segments that are well known and trusted, and our reliance on in-house origination channels rather than mortgage brokers, have together underpinned the Bank’s very low level of loan arrears. We’re proud of our record of over 62 years of never foreclosing on a home loan borrower and never incurring a loss on a home loan.
The Banking Royal Commission revealed systemic misconduct by the major banks, while G&C Mutual Bank offered a viable alternative as a bank that puts its members first. Our approach is to be there to help our members in times of need or financial difficulty, just as we always have.
G&C Mutual Bank’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic
By mid-March 2020, as the dire economic consequences of the pandemic became clear, G&C Mutual Bank announced a comprehensive package of financial assistance measures to help our members. These measures included loan repayment deferrals for home owners, special ‘cashflow’ assistance for those with urgent financial needs, and a suite of measures to assist our small business and self-employed borrowers. In addition to our overwhelming priority of providing members with support and financial assistance, G&C Mutual Bank took further steps during 2019/2020 to enhance its products and services, as evidenced by the numerous product awards we received through the year.
“We’re proud to be a member-owned bank and we’re committed to helping people buy homes and plan for a bright future, to helping businesses get ahead and to helping communities grow,” said Dave.
Joining the Global Alliance for Banking on Values
In January 2021, we announced that G&C Mutual Bank had become an Associate Member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV). As the CEO of one of only three Australian banks invited to join, Dave was instrumental in bringing G&C Mutual Bank’s mission to the global network. The GABV promotes a positive, viable banking model that’s focused on meeting human needs and sustainability. By joining the GABV, G&C Mutual Bank can reinforce its mission to provide its members and communities with highly valued products and services in a manner that is financially sustainable.
Appointed as CEO on 1 July 2021, Rosanna Argall has worked closely with Dave as Deputy CEO and has been part of G&C Mutual Bank’s success for over 25 years. Dave will remain actively involved in G&C Mutual Bank as a Board Director.
On behalf of the staff and members of G&C Mutual Bank, congratulations, Dave, and thank you for your leadership.
