| Bank of Melbourne | |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Industry: | Banking, Financial services |
| Foundation: | 25 July 2011 |
| Location: | Melbourne, Australia |
| Locations: | 16 (21 July 2024) |
| Predecessor: | Bank of Melbourne (1989) |
| Area Served: | Victoria, Australia |
| Key People: | Elizabeth Proust (Chairman) Mark Melvin (Chief Executive) |
| Products: | Personal Banking, Business Banking |
| Num Employees: | 1,000 plus |
| Parent: | Westpac |
The Bank of Melbourne is a financial institution operating in Victoria, Australia. A subsidiary of Westpac, it commenced operations on 25 July 2011.
The Bank of Melbourne initially rebadged the Victorian business of St George Bank, another wholly owned subsidiary of Westpac, as part of a major local branding strategy. The customer-facing activities of the business operate independently of Westpac. Westpac has owned the Bank of Melbourne, and the rights to the brand, since its acquisition of the bank in 1997.[1]
The RESI Statewide Building Society was granted a banking licence and established the Bank of Melbourne in July 1989, listing it on the Australian Securities Exchange on 13 July 1989.[2] In November 1996, the bank acquired the Victorian business of Challenge Bank from Westpac.
On 3 April 1997, Westpac made a $1.43 billion bid to acquire the Bank of Melbourne; on 29 September 1997, holders of 96% of the ordinary shares of the Bank of Melbourne voted to approve the proposal. Conditions of approval for the takeover required Westpac to continue operating the entity as the Bank of Melbourne for three years.
The entity traded under that brand name until January 2004, at which point the brand name was retired and replaced with Westpac.[1] In 2008, Westpac merged with the St George Bank.
In 2011, Westpac relaunched a redesigned Bank of Melbourne brand, trading with the infrastructure and employees of St George Bank in Victoria and led by Chief Executive Scott Tanner.[3] [4] Bank of Melbourne's logo is a navy blue shield, reflecting the architecture of Melbourne[5] and Victoria's state colour. The logo was created by Ogilvy and Designworks.[6]
The bank has branches across metropolitan Melbourne and other primary urban centres including Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and Shepparton. It has a local executive team led by Chief Executive Mark Melvin, an Advisory Board chaired by prominent business figure Elizabeth Proust, and a CBD call centre to serve customers over the phone.
In 2015, Bank of Melbourne was announced as the anchor tenant in the Rialto's $100 million Mid town redevelopment,[7] timed to mark the 30th anniversary of the iconic skyscraper. The bank moved its head office to the redeveloped Rialto building on the corner of Collins and King streets in the Melbourne central business district in 2017.
At its peak, Bank of Melbourne's branch network numbered over 100 branches around Victoria; mostly being rebranded St George branches. From the start of 2022, the bank's dedicated branch network began to shrink rapidly,[8] dwindling to just 16 by July 2024, being sporadically placed around Melbourne - and one each in Geelong and Ballarat - with the Box Hill and Pakenham branches slated for closure in August and September 2024. Customers of the bank can, however, use all Westpac branches and ATMs for cash transactions and access basic or full banking customer assistance at selected Westpac branches in Victoria and around Australia. Further to this, Bank of Melbourne customers can access full banking services at any BankSA or St George branch in Australia.[9]