BankSA, formerly known as the Bank of South Australia, the State Bank of South Australia and the Savings Bank of South Australia is the largest bank in South Australia. It is a subsidiary of Westpac.
History
thumb|BankSA head office (completed 1943)
The Savings Bank of South Australia The first premier of the colony, B. T. Finniss, was a trustee of the bank's inaugural board, and F. H. Robe, Lieutenant Governor of the colony, was president of the bank. This sponsorship was renewed, and BankSA was the Fringe's principal partner until 2022.
Further local alliances
BankSA is a private company that also extends its banking services to government and public institutions, and fellow private businesses, including the entities listed below:
- Law Society of South Australia
- Country Fire Service Volunteers' Association
- Australian Medical Association
- Port Adelaide Football Club
- Local South Australian accounting, financial planning, legal and real estate firms
Implications in Royal Commissions
BankSA has not been the subject of Royal Commission findings; however, it did have an indirect history in two separate Royal Commissions. The 1991 Royal Commission in South Australia determined that the State Bank of South Australia had an underperforming loan book due to weak lending rules and operational inefficiencies, which led to a government bailout. As a result, the State Bank of South Australia had to separate and sell off the profitable part of its bank to Advance Bank, which was acquired by Westpac in 2008.
Westpac, was implicated in the Banking Royal Commission of 2017 and was ordered to pay the largest penalty of $1.3 billion for money laundering. BankSA was not directly implicated in any penalty or criminal action.
See also
- Banking in Australia
- List of banks
- List of banks in Australia
- List of banks in Oceania