King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is pleased to have supported Greater Bank Limited (Greater Bank) on its merger with Newcastle Permanent Building Society Limited (Newcastle Permanent), renamed Newcastle Greater Mutual Group Ltd.
The merger was approved by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and took effect on 1 March 2023, creating one of Australia’s largest customer owned banks with combined assets of approximately $20 billion and approximately 600,000 customers.
The merger principally involved a transfer of Greater Bank’s customers and all of its assets and liabilities to Newcastle Greater Mutual Group pursuant to the statutory transfer mechanism under the Financial Sector (Transfer and Restructure Act) 1999 (Cth) and is expected to provide an enhanced customer service proposition, continued investment of profits for the benefit of the Newcastle community and delivery of value for the combined membership group. The brands associated with both Greater Bank and Newcastle Permanent will also continue to operate under the newly merged entity.
The core KWM team was led by partners Rhys Casey, Mark Vanderneut and Simon Cooke and supported by Caroline Paskevich (Senior Associate) and Sacha Kemp (Solicitor).
Commenting on the deal, Rhys Casey said "It has been a pleasure to support Greater Bank on this significant milestone in its history. Mutual ADI mergers are unique, and this transaction underscores the importance of the customer-owned model in Australia’s banking ecosystem".
KWM is a leading adviser in the financial services and mutual sectors and is proud to have been able to support Greater Bank on the merger.
