Who Are The Greater?

Who are the Greater?

When making financial decisions regarding loans and investments, you want to feel safe and secure. You can count on the Greater to provide the strength and security you are looking for.

The Greater first opened its doors in 1945 and since then has grown to become one of the largest Building Societies in Australia, boasting over a quarter of a million members and over 66 branches throughout NSW and South East Queensland. In 2011, we were listed as number 182 in the Top 500 Private Companies in Australia by BRW Magazine.

At the Greater we are committed to serving our members and provide a comprehensive range of competitive savings, investment and loan products. We offer the financial strength and stability of major banks whilst providing the friendly personalised service you have come to expect from a Building Society.

Our Branch Managers are very accessible and fully appreciate that they are in the “customer service business”. In recent times there has been much scrutiny of the relative safety and security of all financial institutions. As a mutual organisation the Greater offers members significant peace of mind – we are here for our members, not shareholders, and are therefore able to maintain significantly higher liquidity and capital adequacy levels than profit driven organisations.

Mutual Banking Code of Practice

We are also a member of ABACUS and comply with the Mutual Banking Code of Practice. This code gives our members the confidence of knowing they are covered by a market leading, plain english commitment to fair and responsible banking. For further information about the Mutual Banking Code of Practice, go to the Abacus website.

The Code Compliance Committee (CCC) was established to ensure that Mutuals subscribing to the Code of Practice meet standards of good practice.  The CCC investigates complaints that the Code has been breached and monitors Mutuals’ compliance with the Code through compliance activities such as mystery shopping, surveys and compliance visits. For more information about the CCC and their responsibilities, go to the CCC website www.cccmutuals.org.au

The Greater prides itself on being responsible lenders and we promote the Responsible Use of Credit.

History of the Greater

At the start of the 20th Century, Newcastle was suffering from high unemployment and economic depression. Home ownership was out of reach for many as wages were low and rents were high.

In 1924, Mr F.W Lean and Mr K.A Mathieson Snr. formed the Newcastle and Hunter River Public Service Starr-Bowkett Building Cooperative Society Limited. This was the start of what was to become the Greater Group.

Starr-Bowkett societies provided interest free home loans to their members. Each member bought shares and made weekly contributions to the society. A lottery would then determine which member received the loan. When all members had drawn and repaid their loans, the society would terminate and any surplus funds were distributed among the members. Permanent Building Societies were established after World War II to meet the increasing demand for home ownership.

Building Blocks

In 1945, The Greater Newcastle Cooperative Permanent Building and Investment Society began. The society has changed its name over the years and is now known as Greater Building Society Ltd to reflect its reach beyond Newcastle.

Growing Greater

The Greater has developed from a single office run by Mr F.W Lean (whose only assistant was his wife), to a staff of over 600 in 61 branches in 2004. The company's assets were £11,000 in 1946 and in 2009 the Society holds a total assets base of over $4 billion. Now, the Greater is the fourth largest building society in Australia.

The Greater aims to assist as many members as possible to acquire a home loan, a goal that is reminiscent of the early societies. Its current mission is to be the most progressive customer-focused financial institution in Australia.

Strength and Security

As one of Australia's largest Building Societies you can rest assured that your money is safe and secure with the Greater.

  • We have over 230,000 Members and $4 billion in assets.
  • We are listed as number 182 in the Top 500 Private Companies in Australia according to 2011 BRW Magazine.
  • We have a BBB/Stable/A-2 "Investment Grade" credit rating from Standard & Poors.
  • We maintain the largest branch network of any Building Society in Australia. The current network is extensive with over 65 branches covering Newcastle, the Hunter Valley, North Coast, mid-North Coast, Central Coast, Sydney, Illawarra Region, Bathurst/Orange, North West region and the Gold Coast.
  • The Greater is licenced by ASIC to provide advice and deal in financial services our Australian Financial Services Licence Number (AFSL) is: 237476.
  • The Greater is also an APRA approved and authorised deposit-taking institution. One of the benefits of that is that our counter cheques are equivalent to bank cheques under the Cheques Act 1986.
  • We invest our member's money wisely, ensuring that funds are not put at risk. Money is invested in two main areas -predominantly in loans - residential loans accounting for about 80% of all deposited money, whilst 5% fund other loan types like that of consumer and commercial loans. The remaining amount is invested in high quality liquid assets.
  • Our Internet Banking site is safe and secure, making it easier for members to check account balances, loan balances and transfer funds between accounts.
  • Greater Building Society APS 330 Disclosure

2011 Annual Report

View a copy of our latest Annual Report. Please note, this file is 2Mb in size and may take some time to download. Please phone our Customer Service department if you would like a copy mailed to you.

Prior Year Annual Reports

You can download a PDF copy of older Greater Building Society Annual Reports using the links below:

2010 Greater Buidling Society Annual Report
(For the year ended 30 June 2010)

2009 Greater Building Society Annual Report
(For the year ended 30 June 2009)

2008 Greater Building Society Annual Report
(For the year ended 30th June 2008)

2007 Greater Building Society Annual Report
(For the year ended 30th June 2007)

2006 Greater Building Society Annual Report
(For the year ended 30th June 2006)

2005 Greater Building Society Annual Report
(For the year ended 30th June 2005)