Customer-owned bank posts 10% pre-tax profit growth

The results also show that half of the bank’s loan approvals came through originations via the broker channel, as the bank aims to expand its reach outside of Queensland.

Overall, loan approvals came in at $2.39 billion, a 34.3 per cent increase on the prior year’s $1.78 billion.

Heritage’s mortgage loan arrears for 30+ days sat at 0.32 per cent at 30 June 2017, around a third of the industry average (according to Standard and Poor’s Performance Index).

CEO Peter Lock said that the 2016/17 financial year proved to be “very successful” for Heritage Bank in terms of growth.

Mr Lock said: “We have been on a deliberate growth trajectory, as we look to build our loan book, retail deposits and assets. That growth will be critical for us in reshaping the business and investing more in our digital capabilities in coming years, both in the front-end and in the back office.

“Heritage is a strong brand and our customer-owned status means we have a fantastic value proposition that resonates with banking consumers.”

Chairman Kerry Betros also commented, saying that the board was focused on “modernising our bank, simplifying our processes, streamlining our operations to our core business, and delivering great value to customers”.

“I’m delighted at the way our staff have taken up the challenge of delivering on our strategic goals. The growth we have achieved this year is clear evidence of our success in pursuing those goals,” Mr Betros said.

[Related: Heritage praises third-party team following strong growth]