Greater Building Society chief executive officer Don Magin has been elected as the new chairman of the industry body for building societies, credit unions, mutual banks and friendly societies.

Mr Magin was elected by the Board at the Abacus AGM held in Cairns. He replaces Hume Building Society CEO Andrew Saxby who remains a director. CUA group general manager for strategy and marketing Andrew Hadley was elected to the Board.

Mr Magin said he will continue to work with his colleagues from the mutual financial sector to ensure it becomes entrenched as the fifth pillar of banking in Australia.

“I am confident that building societies and credit unions will continue to grow as a real alternative to the major banks to benefit Australian home owners and investors,” Mr Magin said.

“We need to keep getting the message out to the Government and to consumers that, as customer-owned, people-focused financial institutions, building societies, credit unions and mutual banks are well-capitalised and focused on delivering lower fees, competitive rates and better service than the big banks,” he said.

Abacus CEO Louise Petschler welcomed Mr Magin’s appointment saying “the mutual sector is all about people before profit, and our people are our best asset.”

“I look forward to working with Don to bring even greater public awareness of the benefits of customer-owned banking and the mutual sector to Australian consumers,” Ms Petschler said.

Mr Magin has been CEO of NSW headquartered Greater Building Society since April 2008 and has 25 years experience in the financial services sector. He is a director of industry body Australian Settlements Limited (ASL). He is also a director of Heal for Life Foundation, a national charity supporting survivors of childhood abuse and trauma and is a member of the Executive Council of Alumni of the University of Newcastle. Mr Magin was one of three finalists in the Australian Banking and Finance “CEO of the Year” for 2011. One of Mr Magin’s first achievements as Greater CEO was to secure global star Jerry Seinfeld, in a multi-year deal, to be the face of the Greater’s “Ask a Greater Customer” campaign.

ABACUS represents 108 mutual financial institutions that have a combined total of more than 4.6 million customers and more than $83 billion in assets.

Media information:
Craig Eardley (Greater) on 0437477493 or Pam Eldridge (ABACUS) on 0423 843 790