In 1895, the Government of Western Australia established the Agricultural Bank of Western Australia as a rural lender to support the State's farming industries. Despite its name, it was technically not a bank, in that it did not collect deposits from the public, its liabilities being government bonds. It was a government instrumentality that lent exclusively to farmers. In 1945, the Agricultural Bank became a full trading bank and changed its name to the Rural and Industries Bank of Western Australia. This enabled it to expand its retail and commercial banking services throughout the state. In 1956 it became a savings bank, and in 1985 the first Sydney branch opened. The bank was incorporated in 1990, and then in 1994 changed its name to the Bank of Western Australia Limited, with the trading name Bankwest, in preparation for privatisation. In December 1995, the Bank of Scotland acquired the bank, and as part of the sale agreement, offered 49 per cent of the shares in Bankwest to the public. Bankwest shares listed on the Australian Stock Exchange on 1 February 1996. In 2001, Halifax Group merged with Bank of Scotland to form HBOS plc. HBOS then acquired all the outstanding shares of Bankwest, making it HBOS's wholly owned subsidiary. In 2003, Bankwest announced the acquisition of API Finance from Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd for $300m in line with its industry specialisation growth strategy in the business banking segment. Late in 2006, Bankwest announced it would be leaving their landmark tower, in favour of a new complex at Raine Square. In early June 2008, reports began to circulate that HBOS intended to sell Bankwest. In September 2008, Lloyds TSB bought HBOS in a deal worth over £12.2 billion. This was followed in October 2008 when, with significant problems of their own, HBOS/Lloyds TSB agreed to the sale of Bankwest and St Andrews Insurances to Commonwealth Bank of Australia for an initial purchase price of 2.1 billion.
Products and services
Bankwest offers a full range of banking products, including loans, credit cards transaction and savings accounts. In 2007, Bankwest launched the Bankwest Regular Saver account for individuals. In 2012 Bankwest launched the Student Edge debit card linked to their Student account. In 2016, Bankwest terminated its share trading platform and all Bankwest online share trading accounts were closed on 31 May 2016.
Branch closures
On 18 July 2018, Bankwest announced plans to close 29 branches in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland from 17 August to 7 September. Bankwest managing director Rowan Munchenberg said an overwhelming number of its customers were choosing to bank online, prompting the closure of the stores.
Controversies
In December 2011, a former Bankwest commercial client Geoff Shannon started an action group and website called "Unhappy Banking", after losing "all of company and personal assets due to the predatory conduct of Bankwest". The group claims that Bankwest "moved aggressively to reduce its exposure to small- and medium-sized commercial property clients" after being taken over by the Commonwealth Bank in 2008. After lobbying by Unhappy Banking, a Senate Inquiry was announced into banking practices on 14 March 2012. In August 2013 Shannon lost his case against Bankwest, with Supreme Court Judge Sackar referring to Shannon as an "unreliable witness".
