Countrywide Banking Corporation limited was a retail bank operating throughout New Zealand until 1998 when it was acquired by the National Bank of New Zealand. It was created from Countrywide Building Society, which itself emerged from the original Auckland Co-operative Terminating Building Society created in March 1897.
Countrywide Bank registered as a bank in 1987 during a period of significant regulatory change in the New Zealand banking system. At the time of registration the bank's two major shareholders were Bank of Scotland, a large Scottish bank headquartered in Edinburgh, and General Accident, a major general insurer headquartered in Perth, Scotland. The bank was listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange. [1]
In 1992 Countrywide Bank purchased the United Building Society from the State Bank of South Australia. [1] At the time Countrywide was larger and has subsequently been described as much more efficient than United. [2]
In 1998 The National Bank of New Zealand, which itself was owned by Lloyds Bank in the UK, purchased Countrywide Bank from the Bank of Scotland, which by this time had become the sole owner of the bank. [1] The operations of the two banks were merged with a period of consolidation in the retail network that allowed National Bank customers to use Countrywide Bank branches even though the two banks were yet to merge their back-end computer networks. The combined branch network was then rationalised with the rebranding of all branches to the National Bank branding and the closure of surplus and duplicated branches.
Building societies merged or purchased by Countrywide Building Society/Countrywide Bank: [3]
A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization, which offers banking and related financial services, especially savings and mortgage lending. They exist in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and formerly in Ireland and several Commonwealth countries, including South Africa as mutual banks. They are similar to credit unions, but rather than promoting thrift and offering unsecured and business loans, the purpose of a building society is to provide home mortgages to members. Borrowers and depositors are society members, setting policy and appointing directors on a one-member, one-vote basis. Building societies often provide other retail banking services, such as current accounts, credit cards and personal loans. The term "building society" first arose in the 19th century in Great Britain from cooperative savings groups.
The Co-operative Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank based in Manchester, England. Established as a bank for co-operators and co-operatives following the principles of the Rochdale Pioneers, the business evolved in the 20th century into a mid-sized British high street bank, operating throughout the UK mainland. Transactions took place at cash desks in co-op stores until the 1960s, when the bank set up a small network of branches that grew from 6 to a high of 160. Branches for residents of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands were closed in the 2010s during a significant rescaling exercise. As of 2023 it has 50 branches in the UK.
The National Bank of New Zealand Limited (NBNZ), often referred to as The National Bank, was one of New Zealand's largest banks. Throughout much of its history, the National Bank provided commercial banking services to mainly major industrial and rural as well as some personal customers.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, is an Australian financial institution, operating primarily in retail banking. The company was formed by the merger of Bendigo Bank and Adelaide Bank in November 2007.
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) is one of New Zealand's big four banks. It has been operating since October 1861, and since 1992 has been owned by National Australia Bank (NAB), retaining local governance with a New Zealand board of directors. The bank operates a variety of financial services covering retail, business, and institutional banking.
Alterna Savings and Credit Union Limited, commonly called Alterna Savings, is a credit union based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In addition to its credit union branches in Ontario, it also operates across Canada through its direct banking subsidiary Alterna Bank.
The Britannia Building Society was founded as the Leek & Moorlands Building Society in Leek in 1856. It expanded steadily as a regional society until the late 1950s when it began a major expansion drive, partly through branch openings but also some 55 acquisitions. The most substantial of these were the NALGO Building Society in 1960; the Westbourne Park in 1965 ; and the Eastern Counties Building Society in 1974. The Society’s name was changed to the Britannia Building Society the following year.
The United Kingdom is home to a widespread and diverse co-operative movement, with over 7,000 registered co-operatives owned by 17 million individual members and which contribute £34bn a year to the British economy. Modern co-operation started with the Rochdale Pioneers' shop in the northern English town of Rochdale in 1844, though the history of co-operation in Britain can be traced back to before 1800. The British co-operative movement is most commonly associated with The Co-operative brand which has been adopted by several large consumers' co-operative societies; however, there are many thousands of registered co-operative businesses operating in the UK. Alongside these consumers' co-operatives, there exist many prominent agricultural co-operatives (621), co-operative housing providers (619), health and social care cooperatives (111), cooperative schools (834), retail co-operatives, co-operatively run community energy projects, football supporters' trusts, credit unions, and worker-owned businesses.
Bank of Scotland International Limited was the international banking division of Bank of Scotland. Established in 2003, it was headquartered in Jersey, and operated branches on the Isle of Man and Hong Kong, until merging with Lloyds TSB Offshore in 2011 as Lloyds TSB International brand.
The Coventry Building Society is a building society based in Coventry, England. It is the second largest in the United Kingdom with total assets of more than £62 billion at 31 December 2023. It is a member of the Building Societies Association. The society has over 1.6 million saver-members and a further 460,000 borrower-members.
Co-operative Banking Group Limited was a UK-based banking and insurance company and a wholly owned subsidiary of The Co-operative Group. Established in 2002, its head office was located at the CIS Tower, Miller Street, Manchester.
United Building Society was a New Zealand building society, that became registered retail bank known as United Banking Group. It was acquired by the State Bank of South Australia in 1990, which sold the bank to the Countrywide Bank in 1992 after the State Bank of S.A. had made significant losses. The United Bank was merged with other Countrywide operations, and the name was dropped in 1994.
Co-op Insurance is the trading name of CIS General Insurance, a general insurance company, which is part of the Co-operative Group, based in Manchester, United Kingdom. Co-op Insurance Services, an insurance intermediary incorporated in 2017, is a wholly owned subsidiary of CIS General Insurance.
Cheltenham & Gloucester plc (C&G) was a mortgage and savings provider in the United Kingdom, a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. C&G specialised in mortgages and savings products. Previously, C&G was a building society, the Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society. Its headquarters were in Barnwood, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. C&G was closed to new mortgage and savings business on 9 September 2013.
Greater Bank is an Australian customer-owned bank and now a brand of Newcastle Greater Mutual Group, an organisation formed through the merger between Greater Bank and Newcastle Permanent Building Society.
Hume Bank is an Australian bank. Headquartered in Albury, New South Wales, it is a customer-owned bank that started as a building society in 1955. Its business focus is on retail banking and assisting local economic development.
The history of the banking sector in New Zealand dates back to the early days of European settlement in the country. Over the years, the banking industry has played a vital role in supporting economic growth and development, providing financial services to individuals, businesses, and the government. This article explores the significant milestones and transformations in the history of the New Zealand banking sector.
Further details can be found in Building a Bank by Tony Farrington, Penguin NZ