SBS Bank

SBS Bank is a New Zealand registered bank headquartered in Invercargill. It traces its origins to 1869, when it was established as the Southland Building, Land and Investment Society to give local people a secure place to save and a way to obtain mortgage finance for home ownership. One of its founders, James Walker Bain, is associated with an early journey from Dunedin to Invercargill and subsequently served as the society’s president for approximately three decades. The institution changed its name several times as its activities and identity developed. In 1876 it became the Southland Building and Investment Society and Bank of Deposit. The name Southland Building Society was formally adopted in 1995. In October 2008, the organisation obtained registration as a bank and adopted the SBS Bank name. The conversion did not end its mutual character: SBS Bank has continued to describe itself as a fully New Zealand-owned bank operating with a mutual building-society structure, with member interests rather than public-shareholder ownership at the centre of its model. SBS Bank serves customers throughout New Zealand, with a particularly strong historical connection to Southland and the wider South Island. Its activities include personal and transaction banking, home lending, personal loans, commercial lending, insurance, wealth management, KiwiSaver and investment products. The wider SBS Group includes Finance Now, which provides consumer lending such as vehicle and holiday finance; SBS Insurance, which offers house, contents, motor and selected personal-insurance products; and SBS Wealth, which provides private-wealth services and manages the Lifestages KiwiSaver Scheme and Lifestages Investment Funds. The bank expanded its organisational base through the 2010 combination with Hastings Building Society. In November 2015, HBS Bank was amalgamated into SBS Bank, bringing the two building-society operations under a single SBS brand. SBS Bank also maintains a visible community presence through sponsorship and support of sporting, cultural and community organisations, including the Southland Sharks, Highlanders, Stadium Southland, Invercargill Golf Club, Academy Southland, Southland Stags, Ronald McDonald House South Island and Invercargill Musical Theatre. SBS Bank uses the 03 account prefix, an arrangement also associated with Westpac New Zealand because the two institutions use the same banking lines. The bank is not publicly listed. Reference material indicates a credit rating of BBB, but the rating date and issuing agency details are not specified here. Its current identity combines nationwide banking services with the localised, member-oriented heritage of a nineteenth-century building society.

SBS Bank began in 1869 as the Southland Building, Land and Investment Society. It was created in the nineteenth-century building-society tradition, with a practical local purpose: providing a safe place for people to deposit money and helping them secure mortgage finance for home ownership. James Walker Bain was among the founders. The historical account associated with the bank records that Bain walked 204 kilometres from Dunedin to Invercargill before becoming involved in the institution, and that he later served as its president for about 30 years. The society’s name changed in 1876 to the Southland Building and Investment Society and Bank of Deposit. This name reflected its combined savings, investment and deposit functions. For much of its early existence, the organisation was identified with Southland and operated as a community-based financial institution rather than as a shareholder-owned commercial bank. The formal name Southland Building Society was adopted in 1995. A major institutional transition followed in October 2008, when the society obtained registration as a bank and became SBS Bank. The change gave the organisation registered-bank status while preserving the mutual building-society model. SBS Bank is described as fully New Zealand-owned, and its ownership and governance identity remain connected to its members rather than to a public stock-market listing. The bank’s business subsequently developed beyond traditional savings and home lending. SBS Bank and related SBS Group entities provide personal banking, mortgages, consumer and commercial lending, insurance, investment and wealth-management services. Finance Now operates within the wider group and provides personal finance, including vehicle and holiday loans. SBS Insurance provides house, contents and motor cover together with selected personal-insurance products such as life and income protection. SBS Wealth provides private-wealth services and operates the Lifestages KiwiSaver Scheme and Lifestages Investment Funds. The reference material describes SBS Wealth as managing more than NZ$1.4 billion for over 20,000 New Zealanders, although the applicable date and source context for those figures are not specified and they are therefore not treated as current financial data here. SBS also expanded through relationships with other building societies. Hastings Building Society joined SBS Bank in 2010. In November 2015, HBS Bank was amalgamated into SBS Bank, consolidating the two operations under the SBS brand. These developments broadened the institution’s reach while maintaining its mutual-bank positioning. The organisation remains headquartered in Invercargill and serves customers across New Zealand. Its community role is expressed through sponsorship of regional sport, venues, education and cultural organisations. Named examples include the Southland Sharks, the Highlanders rugby team, Stadium Southland, Invercargill Golf Club, Academy Southland, the Southland Stags, Ronald McDonald House South Island and Invercargill Musical Theatre. SBS Bank also uses the 03 account prefix, shared with Westpac New Zealand because the two institutions use the same banking lines. The bank is active, unlisted and positioned as a locally rooted New Zealand mutual with a broad modern financial-services offering.

• 2015

  HBS Bank amalgamation

  [1]SBS Banken.wikipedia.org

  HBS Bank was amalgamated with SBS Bank in November.

• 2010

  Hastings Building Society joins

  [1]SBS Banken.wikipedia.org

  Hastings Building Society joined SBS Bank.

• 2008

  Conversion to registered bank

  [1]SBS Banken.wikipedia.org

  In October, Southland Building Society obtained bank registration and became SBS Bank.

• 1995

  Southland Building Society name adopted

  [1]SBS Banken.wikipedia.org

  The institution officially changed its name to Southland Building Society.

• 1876

  Name expanded to reflect deposit and investment activities

  [1]SBS Banken.wikipedia.org

  The organisation adopted the name Southland Building and Investment Society and Bank of Deposit.

• 1869

  Southland Building Society established

  [1]SBS Banken.wikipedia.org

  The Southland Building, Land and Investment Society was founded to provide local savings facilities and mortgage finance.

A New Zealand-owned mutual bank combining nationwide retail and financial services with a Southland and South Island community identity.

• Retail banking

  SBS retail banking

  SBS Bank’s core retail offering serves personal customers through deposit and everyday banking services, together with lending and related financial products. It represents the modern banking expression of the institution’s original building-society purpose of helping members save securely and finance homes.

• Mortgages · 1869

  SBS home lending

  Home lending is a central part of SBS Bank’s historical and current proposition. The organisation was established partly to help local people obtain mortgages and own homes, and its banking activities continue to include residential lending for New Zealand customers.

• Consumer finance

  Finance Now

  Finance Now is an SBS Group subsidiary providing personal lending. Its described product range includes vehicle finance and holiday loans, extending the group’s consumer-credit activities beyond traditional deposits and mortgages.

• Insurance

  SBS Insurance

  SBS Insurance provides protection products including house, contents and motor insurance. The subsidiary also offers selected personal insurance, including life and income-protection cover, giving the wider group an insurance capability alongside its banking services.

• Wealth management

  SBS Wealth

  SBS Wealth provides private-wealth services and manages the Lifestages KiwiSaver Scheme and Lifestages Investment Funds. The business extends SBS Group into managed investments, retirement savings and broader wealth planning for New Zealand customers.

• Community and regional sponsorship programme

  New Zealand · Southland · South Island

  SBS Bank sponsors and supports local sporting, cultural, educational and community organisations. Named sponsorship relationships include the Southland Sharks, Highlanders, Stadium Southland, Invercargill Golf Club, Academy Southland, Southland Stags, Ronald McDonald House South Island and Invercargill Musical Theatre.

  Outcome. The sponsorship activity reinforces SBS Bank’s community-oriented mutual positioning and its historical connection to Southland and the wider South Island.

  Source

• 2015

  Amalgamation of HBS BankM&A

  Background

  The Hastings-related banking operation was consolidated after the earlier combination with SBS Bank.

  Action taken

  HBS Bank was amalgamated with SBS Bank in November 2015.

  Aftermath

  The combined operation continued under the SBS Bank brand.

  Source

• 2010

  Combination with Hastings Building SocietyM&A

  Background

  SBS Bank pursued growth through combination with another New Zealand building-society institution.

  Action taken

  Hastings Building Society joined SBS Bank.

  Aftermath

  The transaction expanded the organisation’s institutional and geographic base.

  Source

• 2008

  Become a registered bank while retaining mutual statusStrategy

  Background

  Southland Building Society had operated as a building society since the nineteenth century and sought registered-bank status.

  Action taken

  In October 2008, it obtained bank registration and changed its name to SBS Bank, while continuing as a New Zealand-owned mutual institution.

  Aftermath

  The change established the SBS Bank identity and enabled the organisation to present a broader banking proposition without becoming a publicly listed shareholder-owned bank.

  Source

1. 1SBS Banken.wikipedia.org
2. 2SBS Bank official websitesbsbank.co.nz