ow
many of us would find it useful to be able to discuss our financial
position with a consultant at our bank
on a Sunday? Well, in New Zealand quite a lot of people can and they
often combine it with a trip to the local shopping mall.
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Burrett
‘We
led the way in ATMs and electronic transfers, and now we
lead online’
|
|
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ASB
Bank has 117 branches across the country and it opens many of them
seven days a week.
Managing director G. Hugh Burrett
says: “Not many of our competitors are even in malls or if they
are in malls they are not open seven days a week. So we have seven-day
operation at the branches in the malls because that is where I see the
future and they work really well.
“They cater to people who normally work during the week. Many people
will use the internet for information, but when they want the personal
touch they can go to the bank at the weekend.”
ASB, now wholly-owned by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), leads
the field in weekend banking,
but it has also been at the forefront of online banking. The bank has
about 30,000 internet customers and some 1.7 million transactions a
month.
“We
went online in real-time in 1969 and we led the way in ATMs (automatic
telling machines) and electronic transfers throughout the 1970s and
1980s, and we have also led the way in internet banking,” says
Mr Burrett.
ASB began life in the mid-19th century as a savings bank in Auckland.
It was then managed by a board of trustees appointed by the government.
Banking was restructured by a government act in the mid-1980s.
In 1988, CBA, the largest personal bank in Australia, paid $242 million
for a 75 per cent share in ASB. Last year, CBA paid $550 million for
the remaining 25 per cent.
“They are a great owner, but still run us as a separate entity,”
says Mr Burrett. “We have board meetings and we have three of their
management on our board, but we run very much as a stand-alone operation.”
The
bank is part of the ASB Group, which includes New Zealand’s leading
life insurance company, besides home mortgages, asset management, trade
finance and securities. “Our share of the trading area is unique,”
adds
Mr Burrett.
For four consecutive years, ASB has held the top spot for customer services
in a nationwide survey conducted by Auckland University.
The bank has a 38 per cent of the Auckland market and about 17 per cent
of the personal banking market in the country as a whole.
ASB
is also strong in rural areas and holds about 15 per cent share of the
market. “The rural sector is performing very well,” says Mr
Burrett.
“We have good farmers operating on a 12 to 15 per cent return on
equity. They are of a fairly large scale, have good experience and they
follow very good practice, so they are doing very well.
“What must be understood is that, as much as we are trying to drive
export growth, we are still very reliant on the rural scene to a large
degree.”