Welcome to the January issue of Communiqué
"I would like to wish all our members and their families a Happy New Year. I hope all had a safe and joyous festive season. I’d like to acknowledge those in the Defence Community who were away from their families during the holiday period; we thank you for your continued service and wish you all a safe and speedy return to your families."
Our 60th Annual General Meeting was held on 30 October 2019 in Sydney. I would like to highlight an important motion that was passed being; the Amendment to the Bank’s Constitution to allow us to issue Mutual Capital Instruments (MCIs). As outlined to those in attendance, our Bank has returned to above system growth and the issuance of MCI’s could help us to grow faster for even longer. Details about our performance in FY 2018-19 can be found in our Annual Report; which is available on our website. In addition to this, I would like to congratulate Bruce Scott on his reappointment as Director. We look forward to his continued commitment in shaping a better bank for our members.
At the November Board Meeting, we received notification from Jodie Hampshire (Deputy Chair) of her resignation from the board. On behalf of the board and our members, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank her for her wonderful service over the last 4 years and we wish her well in her future endeavours. I’d also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Alan Bardwell for his appointment as Deputy Chair. We wish him success in his role and are confident he will serve the bank to the best of his ability.
In fantastic news for first home buyers, I’m proud to announce that our Bank has been selected by the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) to offer home loans under the Federal Government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (the Scheme). More information on the Scheme can be found within this edition.
In October 2019, we launched PayID payments through our Online Banking platforms. Australia’s New Payments Platform (NPP) enables members to make and receive payments in real-time using something easy to remember, like a mobile number or email address. Australian Military Bank is committed to enhancing our product and service offerings in line with our members’ needs and expectations. To date, over 45,000 transactions have been conducted by our members using real-time payments.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to extend our sincerest thanks to our customers, who are our members for their business and support in the past year. We look forward to serving you in 2020.
John Brooks
Chairman
