Bankwest Set To Fire First Salvo Against Big Four
The Age
Tuesday September 28, 2004
BankWest, the wholly owned subsidiary of British banking giant HBOS, plans to take on the big four local banks with an internet and phone service.
The service will launch next month with two savings products and the bank plans to expand into a full range of personal and business banking services.BankWest plans a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign, being finalised by Brand Agency, to launch its push into the new arenas.HBOS' Australian operation, which covers four businesses including asset management and insurance, will be fully backed by the British parent's trillion-dollar balance sheet, making it a formidable potential adversary.The bank claims its research has found the big four banks' uniformity of products, services and fees generates half the brand loyalty an average customer has for toothpaste. It is targeting the 44 per cent of bank customers it says are dissatisfied and seeking alternatives.Next month's launch will be a "best of breed" savings and variable-rates product that, to beat its hype, will have to top ING Direct's 5.25 per cent, no minimum balance, no fixed term account. Bank of Queensland's Cash Management Account pays 5 per cent on balances of $5000.BankWest has seconded Dave Hunt from the British HBOS operation to head up the launch.HBOS is the three-year-old result of Britain's biggest building society, Halifax, merging with Royal Bank of Scotland to become Britain's largest mortgage and savings provider. In Australia, BankWest (formerly the Bank of Western Australia) has 4 per cent of the banking market. The big four - National, ANZ, Westpac and Commonwealth - control 80 per cent.The bank plans to open around five bank branches in Sydney and one in Melbourne to build its business, and is believed to have hired hundreds of staff for Melbourne and Perth call centres.
© 2004 The Age