Bankwest

Bankwest went through several incarnations in form and function, but has remained an integral Western Australian financial institution and continues to grow nationwide.

Bankwest started as an agricultural bank at the end of the 19th century, turned into a trading bank at the end of World War II, was swallowed up in merger after merger at the turn of the 21st century, and finally emerged as a fully owned subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. It is an important financial institution in Western Australia, and is also growing in stature nationwide. Bankwest’s credit cards come in a variety of options, many of which are compelling in comparison to other banks.

The bank offers personal and business banking services, including its Private Banking Services, Bankwest Business and Retail divisions. Other parts of the bank’s operations include housing and agribusiness services, harking back over 100 years to its original remit.

Bankwest offers transaction accounts, savings accounts and term deposits, credit cards, home loans, personal loans, insurance, investment and financial advice. It also provides flexible funding and specialist advice to help business customers with any size of operation. Experts are available to offer help with starting a new business, restructuring an existing business, growing business finances and cash flow, and increasing working capital. The range of business products and services includes loans, accounts, deposits, business credit cards, international trade, private banking and transaction services.

Bankwest started as the Agricultural Bank of Western Australia in 1895, created by the Government of Western Australia to lend money and support the state’s farmers. The company became a full trading bank in 1945, and then spent the next 50 years expanding its retail and commercial banking operations across Western Australia.

In 1990, the bank incorporated and in 1994 changed its name to the Bank of Western Australia Limited, trading under the familiar name of Bankwest. In 1995, the bank was privatised and subsequently bought by Bank of Scotland, which itself merged with Halifax Group to form HBOS in 2001. In 2009, HBOS sold the entire operation to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in a deal worth AU$2.1 billion.

Bankwest is a fully owned subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank Group that serves more than 1 million retail customers, operates 139 stores, 72 Business Banking Centres and 79 Home Loan Specialists.