New name and bank status for PSIS
PSIS has been granted registration as a bank and has changed its name to The Co-operative Bank, with both changes effective from today.
Wednesday, October 26th 2011, 2:00PM
PSIS chairman Sir David Gascoigne said the change was driven largely by two factors; clarifying its position in the market and a preference for the banking regulatory regime.
"We looked at the regulatory regime, we looked at our size and our asset base and the fact we've now got a credit rating that allows us to become a bank and we decided that we prefer the regime surrounding banks rather than being with other entities, finance companies and other mutuals," he said.
"We would rather be seen as a bank, our business is effectively banking and that's what we would like to be."
He said the name change also moved PSIS away from the long-held misconception it only did business with public servants or that it was a finance company.
He also said they wouldn't have made the changes if the Reserve Bank hadn't allowed them to remain a co-operative.
"We'd been having long and earnest discussions with the Reserve Bank, they accept the fact we are and wish to remain a co-operative," he said.
"We've got the best of both worlds in a sense, we're a co-operative and we're a bank."
Gascoigne said the name change also better reflected their new status.
"We're a bank and also a co-operative, so why wouldn't we call ourselves that?"
Chief executive officer Dr Girol Karacaoglu said the co-operative model had proved its worth through the recent global financial crisis, and that they intended to retain the co-operative ethos, ruling out a stock market flotation.
"It is critical for it to be understood that the bank is 10%, the foundation on which we want to build a different type of bank. It's not a machinery or mechanism towards listing."
He said the new bank would retain its focus on personal banking, though they were looking to expand their insurance business.
"We are registering as a bank because it's a very sound platform to grow a co-operative, differentiated bank, that's the sole thinking."
Two new directors have also been appointed for the new bank, former ANZ National director Steven Fyfe and former Accident Compensation Corporation chair Ross Wilson, effective tomorrow.
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