Teachers Mutual Bank
Teachers Mutual Bank Limited is one of the largest mutual banks in Australia, with more than 170,000 members and assets of over $6 billion.
Membership is primarily open to serving and retired teachers, university students undertaking education degrees and diplomas that will qualify them as registered school teachers, other employees in the Australian education sector, and immediate family members of people who fit the primary criteria.
As a mutually owned institution, each member holds one equal share in the organisation and all profits are intended to be returned to members by way of lower fees and interest rates than those available from commercial banks and other for-profit financial institutions.
Initially formed in 1967 as the New South Wales Teachers Credit Union, with membership restricted to public school teachers in New South Wales, the membership of Teachers Mutual Bank is today spread across New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
Having always had a highly decentralised membership, the bank was an early innovator in providing banking services with telephone and, later, internet banking. It currently maintains six core branches; three located in Sydney and one in each of the Hunter Region, the Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia. The head office branch is located at Homebush on Powell Street in Sydney's inner western suburbs.
Since mergers with two credit unions in 2015-16, three divisional branches exist in Perth and one in Sydney.
Teachers Mutual Bank is a long-standing supporter of many education programs and has made a significant contribution to public education in New South Wales. This support extends across a broad range of educational programs including sport, the arts, conferences and workshops as well as significant activities and events at all levels of the school system.
| Year | Milestone | Membership | Assets |
| 1966 | Founding board Members: Joseph Stone, Betty Shearman, Bryan Priest, Colin Thomson, Vernon Wildy, Cecil Norgate, Douglas Wale, Bob Dobson, and Dennis Stewart. The Hornsby Teachers Association Credit Union was formed on 27 September 1966 in response to a group of teachers recognising the need for a mutual financial organisation that understood their needs. | ||
| 1967 | Name changed to NSW Teachers Credit Union at the first Annual Meeting on 20 September. | ||
| 1969 | Sheila Davison became first employee. | 532 | |
| 1970 | Ken Miller appointed General Manager. | ||
| 1974 | Bill Paying Service introduced. | ||
| 1976 | Cash withdrawals became available. | ||
| 1977 | Members’ records were computerised. | ||
| 1980 | Telecheque was introduced allowing members to call and request a cheque withdrawal. | ||
| 1982 | Redi-Access Network utilising other Credit Unions' offices for deposits and withdrawals was introduced. | ||
| 1983 | Redicard, Visa debit card and the Rediteller ATM Network began and teachers were able to direct all their pay to the Credit Union. | ||
| 1984 | Rooty Hill office opened to service the Western Sydney area. | ||
| 1985 | Point of Sale machines and Cheque Books were introduced. | ||
| 1987 | Ken Miller retired and John Prescott was appointed as General Manager. | 58,000 | |
| 1994 | Pay for non-Department of Education members was able to be deposited electronically. | ||
| 2001 | John Prescott retired as General Manager and Stuart Gillies was appointed as Chief Executive. | 104,785 | $923 million |
| 2005 | Stuart Gillies retired and Steve James was appointed as Chief Executive. | 129,617 | $1.5 billion |
| 2006 | Celebrated 40th Anniversary. | ||
| 2007 | Office opened in Canberra. | 143,000 | $1.8 billion |
| 2008 | Office opened in Perth. Merger with TAFE and Community Credit Union. | 155,000 | $2.4 billion |
| 2009 | Received first place in CHOICE magazine's survey on personal banking satisfaction. | ||
| 2010 | Name officially changed to Teachers Credit Union reflecting status as a multi-state credit union. | $3 billion | |
| 2011 | $3.67 billion | ||
| 2012 | The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority approved name change to Teachers Mutual Bank, effective 1 April 2012. | ||
| 2013 | 157,765 | $4.08 billion | |
| 2014 | 161,898 | $4.39 billion | |
| 2015 | Merged with The University Credit Society Limited, effective 1 August 2015. Former UniCredit branches operate as UniBank, a division of Teachers Mutual Bank. | 166,046 | $4.86 billion |
| 2016 | Merged with the Fire Brigades Employees' Credit Union. Former FBECU branch operates as Firefighters Mutual Bank, a division of Teachers Mutual Bank. | 177,357 | $5.54 billion |
| 2017 | 191,415 | $6.68 billion |