The Customer Owned Banking Code of Practice (the Code) is a code of practice for Australia’s customer owned banking institutions which include mutual building societies, credit unions, mutual banks and other authorised deposit taking institutions. Customer owned banking institutions hold over $100 billion in assets and represent four million customers. Through the Code, 70 subscribing institutions voluntarily commit to fair and responsible customer owned banking practices.
The Customer Owned Banking Code Compliance Committee (the Committee) is an independent Committee responsible for monitoring and reporting on compliance with the Code.
The Committee has recently conducted an inquiry into Key Promise 9 of the Code which reflects the customer owned banking sector’s commitment to serving both its communities and its customers.
This inquiry developed a better understanding of how institutions manage this obligation, the identification and promotion of good business practices for engaging with communities and the assessment of the effectiveness of institutions’ impact on the wider community. It benchmarks current industry practice and makes recommendations for good industry practice based on the data collected.
The inquiry confirmed that the customer owned banking sector is community focused, reflecting its history and the culture and frameworks that underpin its dealing with customers.
Some of the key findings include:
A copy of the report can be found here Own Motion Inquiry ‘Community Engagement’.