One of Australia’s largest building societies today announced strong but modest profit growth which it says will allow it to continue to be a competitive force for the benefit of financial services consumers.

After tax profit: Total member funds: Total assets: Retail deposit growth:	$26.7 million up 6.4 million $277 million up $24 million $4.24 billion up 134 million 7.8% to $2.95 billion

At its AGM in Newcastle, Greater Building Society announced an after tax profit of $26.7 million, up $6.4 million on last year. Total member funds increased by $24 million to $277 million. Total assets now stand at $4.24 billion, up $134 million. When other lenders have experienced losses, the Greater’s ratio of impaired loans is a very low 0.036%.

CEO Don Magin said the good financial results mean that the Greater is in a strong position to continue to serve members, and the communities in which it operates, well in coming years.

He put the Greater’s strong performance down to the introduction of new products and services as well as the assistance of Jerry Seinfeld in boosting its profile by up to 19% in its area of operations.

 “Combine our strong financial position with the fact that we offer highly competitive rates, low fees and better service and it is clear that we are a viable alternative to the major banks,” Mr Magin said.

“The Greater’s performance, innovation and customer focus was recognised when we were named Building Society of the Year in both the AFR Smart Investor and Mozo People’s Choice awards,” he said.

In its bid to take on the major banks, Magin said that the Greater had partnered with rediATM to provide members with access to more than 3,500 ATMs across Australia. It had invested in technology to introduce new services including a Live Chat on its website, a Twitter account and an iphone application.

He said that the Greater is looking to explore expansion into new areas, and is proposing to boost its presence in the New England region by merging with Armidale Building Society.

Chairman John Kilpatrick said because the Greater is a mutual, the Board judged the performance of the Society not just on financial indicators but also by customer satisfaction, member benefits and service to the community. Mr Kilpatrick said that in addition to having a more competitive rate than the major banks, the Greater continued to provide a free holiday and a fee free savings account to members taking out its standard variable home loan. The Greater boosted funding to regional medical research institute HMRI and boosted funding for the Gold Coast, Central Coast, Hunter and Northern Inland academies of sport. It continued its support of the KidzWish foundation in the Illawarra, as well as a number of other charities and community organisations.
 
“As the Greater is owned by its members, rather than shareholders, our focus is on members before profits,” Mr Kilpatrick said.

He praised Greater staff for achieving a 95% customer satisfaction rating. The Greater’s superior customer satisfaction ratings compared to the banks is the focus of a new Seinfeld campaign launched in October 2010. 

Looking ahead, Mr Kilpatrick hoped that the Government will introduce practical measures to ensure a more level playing field and boost competition in the financial services sector for the benefit of consumers.

He said the Greater’s sacrifice of profits enabled it to continue to offer consumers lower home loan rates than the major banks. The Greater’s standard variable rate is lower than the standard variable rates of the Big Four banks and the gap widens when comparison rates are used.      

The Greater is this year celebrating 65 years of service. It has almost 250,000 members and has 66 branches (30 in the Hunter, seven on the Central Coast, seven on the Gold Coast, eight on the NSW North Coast, seven in the Illawarra, three in western NSW, two in Sydney and two in New England).