Login
ISCOVER
A mutual bank has revised its constitution to broaden its membership criteria and allow a larger pool of borrowers to access its services.
Firefighters Mutual Bank - part of the Teachers Mutual Bank Ltd (TMBL) group – will now accept volunteer emergency service personnel as members.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
The move comes after the bank's parent company, Teachers Mutual Bank Ltd (TMBL) group (which also includes Health Professionals Bank and UniBank), informed brokers that 92 per cent of its members have approved a constitutional amendment designed to expand eligibility for the bank's membership.
Firefighters Mutual Bank's membership criteria has therefore been revised to include volunteers in the emergency services sector, which would include all volunteer firefighters and state emergency services workers across Australia.
In a statement to The Adviser, Mark Middleton, head of third-party distribution at TMBL, said the board’s amendment would help solidify the group’s position in the marketplace.
“This is a positive outcome for our members as not only does it support the long-term sustainability of the Bank, but it also means we are better positioned to support the education, emergency services and healthcare sectors across Australia,” he said.
According to Mr Middleton, the changes would also provide the group’s broker network with access to a broader range of bespoke offerings for their clients.
“This change also provides an opportunity for brokers to further grow in the niches by offering solutions designed for their client’s particular workforce,” he added.
This is the latest of several policy changes announced by the group over the past month, including a revision to its upfront broker remuneration model.
Earlier this month, TMBL said it would introduce a new deferred payment that will be calculated by reviewing the loan account balance at the end of the month following the 12-month anniversary of settlement.
The lender revealed it would now pay a top-up commission on the difference between the current loan account balance (net of offset) and the loan account balance used in the initial upfront calculation of the loan.
The top-up payment would only be made if the difference is greater than or equal to $20,000.
The change will take effect from 1 January 2020, with the deferred payments to be backdated for January and February.
[Related: Bank revises commissions policy]
