ME makes gains in market

THE bank owned by industry superannuation funds says its customer numbers grew 13 per cent in the past financial year and it expects to lift its market share further this year.

Members Equity Bank, which trades as ME, yesterday reported a 13 per cent rise in underlying earnings – which excludes one-off costs – to $96.5 million.

Chief executive Jamie McPhee said the lender, owned by 26 industry super funds, was looking to improve its suite of products in the year ahead.

It is investing in robotics to drive operational efficiency and profitability.

“We expect to increase market share in fiscal year 2019 despite challenging conditions by investing in digital experiences for customers and continuing to develop our suite of retail banking products and services,” Mr McPhee said.

“One area of focus is credit cards, particularly migrating to a new credit card platform, which will enable ME to expand its suite of credit cards.

“We are also planning further improvements to home loan products and services.”

Mr McPhee said household deposits grew strongly, rising 27 per cent, or almost five times the industry average.

Total customer deposits grew 17 per cent to $14.8 billion, and the bank now 474,000 customers.

Net profit clocked in at $89.1 million, up from $61.9 million the previous year.

That figure included a $3.6 million gain on hedging instruments and $10.9 million in spending on IT projects.

Mr McPhee said the bank’s net promoter score – which broadly tracks the willingness of customers to recommend it – averaged 34 points, the third highest across the industry.

The increased earnings were partly due to a 7 per cent increase in the value of the bank’s asset portfolio, to $28.3 billion, and higher net interest margin which was up 0.12 percentage points. boasts