RECORD HALF YEAR PROFIT FOR HERITAGE
HERITAGE CEO Peter Lock said the mutual bank had not given up on physical banking, saying other lenders had become “obsessed” with digital.
Mr Lock announced the bank’s half-yearly profit report yesterday, revealing a record $37 million profit before tax.
The positive result was at least partially due to the streamlining and automation of several internal services, according to the bank.
Mr Lock said Heritage was looking to invest more money into physical branches, arguing they were still needed by members of the public.
“We’ve got more open banking and more access to people you don’t have to speak to through perspex glass,” he said.
“We have to change the bank to attract and grow new clients. It’s quite a challenge, but not everything has to be digital.
“Some banks can get obsessed with digital, but we need to cater for those clients that can’t do it digitally.”
Heritage actually had to cease offering investor lending for six weeks around September last year to avoid breaching caps installed by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
Mr Lock said the shut-down highlighted the problems with the regulator’s “one-size-fits-all” approach to capping investment and interest-only lending.
Changes to the sector are expected this year, after Treasurer Scott Morrison accepted all recommendations made in 2017 by the Hammond Inquiry into mutual banks.
The mutual bank’s result for the six months to December 2017 was up 25 per cent, both before and after tax.