Stand Up For Your Credit Union

06 October 2006

Abacus – Australian Mutuals has urged members of Police and Nurses Credit Society to stand up for their credit union.

"Don’t let your credit union become a cheap stepping stone for the ambitions of a wannabe bank," says Abacus General Manager Adrian Lovney.

Abacus is the association of mutual building societies and credit unions.

"Your board is obliged to act in the interests of Police & Nurses and its members, whereas Home is acting in Home’s interests. Home wants to acquire assets at the lowest possible price and to squeeze the maximum return out of those assets.

"Home is not a customer-owned company. Home’s goal is to maximise returns to shareholders. Home’s owners measure Home’s success by watching what happens to its shareprice on the stock exchange.

"Police & Nurses Credit Society is a mutual, run for customers, not for a separate group of shareholders.

"What is at stake in a takeover bid by a non-mutual like Home, or any other wannabe bank, is the existence of your customer-owned financial institution.

"When a takeover bidder says they want to ‘unlock value’, what they are really talking about is extinguishing your credit union.

"Home wants to feed on Police & Nurses Credit Society’s reserves as part of its ambition to swell up to become a bank. Those reserves have been built up by generations of current and former members.

"Mutual deposit-taking institutions like Police & Nurses provide genuine competition and choice and our customer-satisfaction levels are the highest in the market.

"Australia’s 148 credit unions and 9 mutual building societies are a strong and growing sector, with $50 billion in total assets and 4.5 million members."

For further information

Adrian Lovney
General Manager
Abacus - Australian Mutuals
Ph: 0411 641 340

or

Louise Petschler
Head of Public Affairs
Abacus - Australian Mutuals
Ph: 0408 239 226