Timeline of banking in Western Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The first commercial bank in Western Australia was created eight years after the establishment of the Swan River Colony in 1829.
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Note: bold entries indicate a locally (W.A.) domiciled operation
- Early 1830s — The Colonial Secretary of Western Australia, Peter Broun, begins a makeshift banking service out of necessity, despite having no training in finance or accounting. It collapses in 1835.
- June 1837 — the Bank of Western Australia (BWA) is established by prominent local businessmen including George Leake as its first chairman
- 1841 — branch of Bank of Australasia opens, forcing the closure of the BWA shortly after
- 1841 or 1842? — Former BWA directors, including Edward Hamersley (Snr) and George Shenton Sr establish the Western Australian Bank (WAB)
- 1845? — Bank of Australasia closes branch
- 1855 — Government savings bank opens
- 1863 — Post Office Savings Bank opens
- 1862 — Perth Building Society (PBS) [1] opens
- 1866 — branch of National Bank opens
- 1878 — branch of Union Bank opens
- 1883 — branch of Bank of New South Wales opens
- 1888 — branch of Commercial Bank opens
- 1895 — Government of Western Australia establishes the Agricultural Bank of Western Australia
- 1927 — Western Australian Bank acquired by Bank of NSW
- 1945 — Agricultural Bank renamed to the Rural and Industries Bank of Western Australia (R&I)
- 1987 — Perth Building Society merges with Hotham Building Society to form Challenge Bank [2]
- 1990 — Town and Country Building Society, WA acquired by ANZ [3]
- 1994 — R&I renamed to Bank of Western Australia Limited, trading as BankWest
- 1995 — Challenge Bank acquired by Westpac (formely Bank of NSW)
- 1996 — BankWest listed on Australian Stock Exchange
- 2001 — HBOS plc acquires controlling interest in Bank of W.A. Australian operation is called HBOS Australia, trading as BankWest for retail and business banking services.
