Commonwealth Bank of Australia

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Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd.

logo
legal form Corporation
ISIN AU000000CBA7
founding 1911
Seat Sydney , AustraliaAustraliaAustralia 
management Matt Comyn (CEO)
Number of employees 52,000
sales $ 30.9 billion
Branch Banking
Website Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Status: 2016

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. ( Commonwealth Bank ) is an Australian financial services company headquartered in Sydney . It is the largest bank in Australia and the 45th largest bank in the world in terms of assets under management (as of 2017).

Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Martin Place, Sydney

history

Foundation and early history (1911–1941)

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia was established by the Commonwealth Bank Act 1911, which promoted the nationalization of the banks with effect from December 22, 1911. In a step rare for this time, the bank was supposed to manage savings as well as conduct general banking. The bank was also the first bank in Australia to receive a federal government guarantee.

The bank opened its first branch in Melbourne on July 15, 1912 . In an agreement with Australia Post that still exists today, banking transactions were also traded through postal agencies. In 1912 it took over the Tasmania State Savings Bank, and in 1913 it had offices in all six states.

In 1916 the bank moved its headquarters to Sydney. She also followed the Australian Army to New Guinea, where she opened offices.

The bank began gaining central banking powers in 1920 when it assumed responsibility for issuing Australian banknotes from the Treasury Department.

In 1920 the Commonwealth Bank took over the Queensland Government Savings Bank .

In 1931 the bank took over the savings business of the Government Savings Bank of New South Wales (founded in 1871) and the current account and fixed deposit business of the Rural Bank Department from the government of New South Wales . The bank also acquired the State Savings Bank of Western Australia (founded in 1863).

Function as central bank (1920–1960)

The role of the bank in central banking was gradually expanded after 1920. In 1931 the bank came into conflict with the Labor government under James Scullin. The bank's chairman, Robert Gibson, refused to extend loans in response to the Great Depression, as suggested by Treasurer Edward Theodore, unless the government cut pensions, which Scullin refused. Conflicts over this issue led to the overthrow of the government and calls from Labor for reform of the bank and more direct state control of monetary policy.

In 1942, the Commonwealth Banking Corporation ceased operations in Papua New Guinea when the Japanese Imperial Army captured many of the cities in which it operated and bombed Port Moresby . The bank later resumed operations.

The Commonwealth Bank received almost all of the powers the central bank had under the emergency laws passed during World War II , and used that power at the end of the war to initiate extraordinary economic expansion. This was also the goal of the then government, which tried to force the Australian states to conduct their banking business with the Commonwealth under the Banking Act 1945 , which the High Court in Melbourne blocked. The government has also expanded immigration programs significantly. In response, the bank created the Migrant Information Service (later known as the Australian Financial and Migrant Information Service, or AFMIS). The bank expanded during this time and in just five years opened hundreds of branches across Australia. In 1951 she founded a branch in the Solomon Islands.

In 1958 and 1959 there was controversy over the dual functions of the organization, which is a central bank on the one hand and a commercial bank on the other. As a result, the government separated the two roles, leaving the Reserve Bank of Australia to act as central bank, and the Commonwealth Banking Corporation had to define itself solely as a commercial bank . This role has been carried out by the following organizations: the Commonwealth Trading Bank of Australia , the Commonwealth Savings Bank of Australia and the newly formed Commonwealth Development Bank .

From 1958 to 1976 the Commonwealth Bank operated savings banks in the New Hebrides .

Activities after 1960

In 1991 the bank acquired the State Bank of Victoria (founded in 1842).

Between 1991 and 1996 the Australian government fully privatized the Commonwealth Bank. The first stock offering in 1991 was valued at $ 1,292 million, the second in 1993 for $ 1,700 million, and the third sold for $ 5,000 million in 1996. It is a public company, but one of the few in Australia whose official name does not end in "Limited".

In 1994 Commonwealth sold its stake in the National Bank of Solomon Islands to the Bank of Hawaii .

In 1994 Commonwealth took a 50% stake in PT Bank International Indonesia .

Others

On June 4, 2018, the Commonwealth Bank agreed to pay a fine of 700 million Australian dollars to pay for violations of laws to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. There were 53,000 transactions involved, with transactions exceeding A $ 10,000 that were not reported to the authorities.

share

The company is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and included in the S & P / ASX 50 stock index .

Subsidiary (selection)

Australia
  • CommInsure
  • Commonwealth Securities
  • HomePath
  • Colonial First State
New Zealand
Asia Pacific
  • Colonial National Bank ( Fiji )
  • PT Bank Commonwealth ( Indonesia )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brief overview of the Commonwealth Bank
  2. ^ Banks in Australia. www.relbanks.com, accessed January 10, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Top 100 Banks in the World. www.relbanks.com, accessed January 10, 2019 .
  4. ↑ history / 1912-1960. Commonwealth Bank of Australia, accessed January 10, 2019 .
  5. ↑ about-us. Commonwealth Bank of Australia, accessed January 10, 2019 .
  6. ^ Commonwealth Bank to pay record fine . June 4, 2018 ( bbc.com [accessed May 25, 2019]).

Web links

Commons : Commonwealth Bank of Australia  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files