Tasmanian Business Reporter November 2018

T A S M A N I A’ S L E A D I N G B U S I N E S S P U B L I C A T I O N . C I R C U L A T I O N 12,000 M O N T H LY
Year of growth for MyState, Bank of us
Tasmanian Business Reporter - NOVEMBER 2018 3
NEWS
Home grown banks’ profits up
TASMANIA’S two financial
institutions have
reported a successful
year on the books, with
MyState and Bank of us
releasing their figures for
the past financial year.
Bank of us recorded an
underlying profit before
tax of $3.84m up 22 per
cent, it says was due to
increased revenue from
strong loan book growth.
Chairman Stephen
Brown said an after-tax
profit of $1.6m for the
year was lower than the
previous year due to the
one-off costs associated
with transitioning from
B&E to Bank of us and
the benefit from a substantial
one-off profit on
the sale of commercial
property assets last year.
Mr Brown said Bank of
us’s loan portfolio grew
12 per cent to $703m
while loan approvals shot
up by 27 per cent to a record
$215m.
Meanwhile, MyState
Limited reported a net
profit after tax of $31.5
million for the year up
4.6 per cent on the year
before.
MyState chairman
Miles Hampton and managing
director Melos
My State managing
director Melos Sulicich
Sulicich said the strong
result was supported by
benefits from its investment
in digitisation which
Model Kate Loader shows off an item from emerging designer Sarah Boyadjian.
Bank of us chairman
Stephen Brown
have improved services
for customers, as well as
by productivity gains and
cost management.
Speaking at the company’s
2018 annual general
meeting, Mr Hampton and
Mr Sulicich again called
for the Federal Government
and regulators to
take positive action to level
the playing field.
Mr Hampton said regulation
tightening bank
lending had favoured the
growth of the shadow
banking sector, with a
recent estimate suggesting
it already had 7 per
cent market share and
that figure was thought
to be growing at four to
five times the rate of bank
lending.
Local fashionistas hit catwalk
MOVE over New York and London,
Hobart will welcome a new festival in
November full of fashion, design, insights
and inspiration from emerging, current and
expat Tasmanian designers.
The Hobart region has seen a growth of
creative industries and events over recent
years, and now is the time for the local fashion
industry to put its foot forward into the
spotlight - with Hobart Fashion Week to run
from November 20th to 25th.
Event Director, Nikola Colls said the
event would become a standout “not only
for its showcase of design, but for our ability
to connect various communities into the
world of fashion and art, with an emphasis
on place and ideas”.
HFW will exhibit Tasmania’s creative talent
in fashion and design, providing inclusive
and engaging workshops, exhibitions
and local business events, complementing
the featured runways to share insight into
the world behind what you wear.
The event supporters, City Mission Op
Shops, City of Hobart and Orenda Studios,
have helped develop a program of events,
which fosters creative innovation, inclusive
community engagement, and sustainable
opportunities.
Mr Sulicich welcomed
the Productivity Commission’s
finding that
the larger banks gained
an unfair funding advantage
from their “too big
to fail” status, combined
with capital benefit from
advanced accreditation.
“While regulations require
all banks to hold
capital against loans,
smaller banks hold 56
per cent more capital
than larger banks even
though the risk of issuing
mortgages is the
same.
Consumers are demanding
the competition
Picture: Samantha Christian
that smaller banks provide,
but we are hobbled
by capital constraints
which let larger banks
lend much more with the
same capital.
“We urge the government
to increase the average
mortgage risk weights
which govern larger
banks’ reserves to reduce
their lending advantage,”
he said.
“Although our result
shows we are well placed
to adapt to competitive
challenges, we believe we
are unfairly constrained
by regulations that benefit
larger banks.”
Visitors
keen to
pedal
AN Australian-first program
that helps local
businesses benefit from
the popularity of cycle
tourism is about to gain
more traction.
The Tourism Industry
Council Tasmania released
the nation’s first
Bike Friendly Business
Accreditation Program
last year, to inform cycling
tourists where to
shop, stay and visit, and
help promote the state as
being cycling friendly.
The program is free
for tourism-accredited
businesses and TICT
will provide training and
resources to assist with
gaining accreditation.
About 38,000 visitors
jump on a bike during
their visit to Tasmania.
The Government contributed
$85,000 to the
development of the program
as part of its $6
million Cycle Tourism
Strategy.
WANTED
Business
movers and
shakers
• Promotions
• Appointments
• Awards
• Celebrating
success
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