Tassie banks defy coronavirus slump
TASMANIA’S Bank of Us and MyState Bank have ridden out the coronavirus uncertainty to post strong profits and are eyeing further expansion.
Acting Bank of Us chief executive Jill JetsonShumbusho said its profit was driven by growth, an improvement to the net interest margin and lower costs.
“We had an after-tax profit of $6.1m and part of that was because of the $1m reversal of doubtful debt because customers found themselves on their feet again,” Ms JetsonShumbusho said.
She said there had record loan approvals of $328m, $50m above the previous year and for the loan book there
was a growth of 10 per cent.
“We are committed to being here for the long term, being sustainable and plan to continue to grow as a business, continue to grow lending, and invest in initiatives that improve the customer experience,” she said.
MyState Bank chief executive Melos Sulicich said it had a 21 per cent increase in net profit after tax to $36.3m.
“The home loan book increased by 6.8 per cent over the 12 months and customer deposits grew by 13 per cent,” Mr Sulicich said.
“We had 17,000 new customers join in the last year and about half of them were from Tasmania.”
He said it was looking to continue to grow in Tasmania, which made up 40 per cent of its business.
Acting Finance Minister Elise Archer said the government’s plan to secure Tasmania’s
future was working and delivering results for the state’s economy.
“Tasmania’s economy is recovering strongly, we have the best conditions for business in the nation, and the highest business confidence, putting us in a positive position as we continue our pathway out from the pandemic,” Ms Archer said.
The Australian reports Spirit Super is also looking at a $300m asset investment in central Hobart of a hotel and office development. The sale of the Parliament Square development would be one of the largest in the state’s history.
The Tasmanian-based super fund was only created in
April after a merger between Tasplan and MTAA Super.
Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Michael Bailey said once the vaccination targets were met and the border restrictions eased the parts of the economy that had been doing it tough would spring back to life.
“Obviously there are challenges for our economy due mainly to Covid and the impact that is having on some businesses, but the fundamentals of Tasmania’s economy are very strong,” Mr Bailey said.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel and we believe there is a bright future for Tasmanian businesses, which is reflected in the MyState and Bank of Us results.”