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The St. George Bank of Australia is one of the most accomplished financial institutions in the country. Aside from being the fifth biggest bank nationwide, it is also included in Australia's top publicly-listed firms. St. George Bank is a known provider of various financial services including wealth management, institutional and business banking, and retail banking.

The success of St. George Bank can be attributed to its market positioning, which is the Bank's steady, sincere relationship with all its customers, that has become a vital element in its operation. In addition to this, the Bank is also known for its capabilities in innovating and managing its products, excellent credit quality, and outstanding customer service ratings.

In November 2006, the Bank created another history as it increased its net profit by 17.9%. As a result, it earned $1 billion net profit for its year 2005/2006 enterprise performance. Although the economy was fallible during that time, the Bank managed to achieve more than its market expectations. Today, St. George Bank's market share is marked at 7.5% but the company aims to increase it up to 2.5% more for the financial year 2006/2007.

History

The beginnings of St. George Bank of Australia can be traced back in the late 184o's when the Savings Bank of South Australia and the State Bank of South Australia merged and operated as one firm. Several years after, St.George Co-operative Building Society Ltd. was established and George Cross was assigned to be the Chairman of the Board of the company. After a month, the establishment of the Cronulla & District Co-operative Building Society took place. These two equally credible firms merged in 1945 and they expanded the Building Society by making way for another 38 branches. Soon after, the merging of the two companies gave birth to the name St.George and Cronulla Societies.

In the 1955 Annual General Meeting of the St.George and Cronulla Societies, the said association was proclaimed a Permanent Building Society. With this development, the Society then aimed to provide financial assistance to its members in purchasing owner-occupied residential areas.

The expansion of the Society began in the 1960s when its first branches operated commenced their operation in Miranda and in Sydney. The aggressive growth of the company continued and it became a leading provider of home loans, financial counseling services, and opportunities for secure investment in the New South Wales. The company's expansion also resulted in the formation of its more than 40 agencies including in the towns of Murwillumbah and Double Bay.

It was in 1970 when "Happy Dragon", the icon of the Society was launched. "Happy Dragon" was first seen during the spectacle in the commemoration of the arrival of Captain Cook in Australia.

To be able to provide convenience in banking operations, the Society went online. The firm was the the first Building Society to efficiently use computer to complete its transactions. It installed an IBM mainframe computer that is connected to its 30 terminals. In addition, the Society also introduced the black light signature system (which enables its clients to do their banking transactions in any of its branch) and online electronic banking system.

The year 1979 is also significant for St. George Bank of Australia because it was when the bank's assets reached $1 billion. It was also the time when it became the country's biggest building society with 800 employees and over 100 branches.

In 1992, the Society finally earned its full banking status as well as its banking license. Afterwards, St. George became a full service bank when it purchased Barclay's Commercial Banking division. Other important events that happened during the 1990s include St. George's launching of Business Banking, its merging with Advance Bank and establishment of BankSA, and its purchasing of SEALCORP and KPMG Financial Services.

St. George Bank of Australia also made several purchases in the early 2000, all of which have contributed to its huge success. For one, it took over the Scottish Pacific Business Finance Group and the margin lending business of the Deutsche Bank. In 2003, St. George reported a marked 20% increase in its profit and established more than 400 branches throughout the country.

St. George Products And Services

St. George Bank's personal banking services involve providing various products such as personal loans, home loans, credit cards, and insurance. It also offers Internet banking, which assures clients of secured and convenient banking transactions. This way, clients can do their banking activities via the Internet or their cellphones.

Business banking is also a pillar of the Bank's system. It offers finance-related solutions, which deal with the finance business-related concerns of its clients. St. George has designed various types of loans for business expansion, development, and other purposes. Business banking is also responsible for providing its customers with merchant services, transaction products, business credit card, and online banking.

Meanwhile, St. George's wealth management involves assisting its clients to handle their finances. It primarily deals with investment and financial planning. Interested customers who are looking forward to investing are advised to inquire for the Bank's Asgard or Advance wealth solutions. The wealth management system of the bank also offers services like financial planning, and margin lending.

In addition to the above-mentioned products and services of one of Australia's most prestigious banks, St. George also has a reputation for being a leading provider of small-business solutions such as finance, lending, transaction, and savings. It also provides its customers with EFTPOS and merchant services. What's more, the Bank offers rural and regional business solutions for people from various parts of the country.

Another edge in banking with St. George is that it guarantees that its loyal customers can take advantage of the services offered by the St.George Institutional & Financial Markets, which provides information regrading in crusade securitization, institutional and finance markets, customer securitization, capital markets, treasury investments, and economic reports.

Offshoring and Commitment to the Community

St. George has also started to consider offshoring works to India. Roughly 70 IT tasks have already been moved to HCL and Tata, two of India's leading IT providers. There are also around 100 loan and cards services jobs that were transferred to IBM Bangalore.

St. George Bank of Australia also takes part in community development as being a sponsor for the St. George Dragons Rugby League team. The Bank is also active in supporting different sporting clubs, charities, disaster relief activities, and business programs.