A member vote on the proposed merger could take place as soon as late 2026.
Mutual lenders Great Southern Bank and P&N Group (Police and Nurses Limited) – which operates P&N Bank in Western Australia and BCU Bank in northern NSW and South-East Queensland – have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore a merger.
The merged entity would become one of Australia’s largest customer-owned banks, with total assets of around $30 billion; dual head offices in Perth and Brisbane; regional offices in Coffs Harbour, Sydney, and Melbourne; and what Great Southern Bank described as the first “truly coast to coast presence in the sector”.
The merger would bring together Great Southern Bank’s presence across Queensland, NSW, and Victoria, with P&N Bank’s positioning in Western Australia, and BCU Bank’s presence in northern NSW and South-East Queensland – creating a metropolitan and regional network for its 620,000 customers.
All three brands would continue to operate after the merger vote, with the merged entity remaining 100 per cent customer-owned, while all non-executive employees would be offered roles.
The existing branch presence and Australian-based call centres on both the east and west coasts would be maintained, providing extended support across time zones, according to the two lenders.
Great Southern Bank’s Paul Lewis would be the inaugural CEO, with a deputy CEO based in Perth to be appointed.
The proposed board would include equal representation from both banks, with Great Southern Bank’s chair, Deborah O’Toole, expected to be appointed as inaugural chair and P&N Group’s current chair, Gary Humphreys, appointed as deputy chair.
With the MOU now signed, both banks will commence due diligence. If the boards agree to proceed, members will have the opportunity to vote on the proposed merger in late 2026 following completion of all requirements.
There would be no immediate changes for customers or employees.
P&N Group’s chair, Humphreys, said the merger would deliver benefits for customers, employees, and communities.
“We have been deliberate in our choice of partnering with Great Southern Bank for this potential merger opportunity. We believe that our customers will benefit from being a part of one of Australia’s leading customer and community-focused banks,” he said.
“Great Southern Bank is a financially strong Australian customer-owned bank with a solid reputation and shared values. The prospect of enhancing our shared commitment to face-to-face customer service and the personal touch our customers love, is an exciting one for our employees and our customers.”
Looking ahead to the opportunities the merger would present, P&N Group managing director and CEO Andrew Hadley said: “Preserving and strengthening our unique West-Coast heritage and identity for P&N Bank customers and our local branches and rural connections for our BCU Bank customers is something we know matters a great deal to them.
“Banking continues to change at pace. Our industry is highly competitive, and given the critical investments required in digital banking, cyber security, technology, and regulation, a merger of this scale would benefit our customers and help ensure that we remain competitive and sustainable.
“By combining our financial resources, strengths and people capabilities, the merged entity would be in a better position to continue to invest in delivering the most value and service to our customers of today and the future.”
Great Southern Bank chair, O’Toole, said the merger represents a landmark opportunity to strengthen the customer-owned offering.
“This merger would create one of Australia’s largest customer-owned banks – a credible alternative to the major banks that can deliver more for customers while staying true to our purpose. By combining, we can invest more in digital banking and technology, improve pricing, and expand our services – all while keeping people, not profits, at the centre of everything we do,” O’Toole said
Great Southern Bank CEO, Lewis, added: “A merger with P&N Group gives us the scale to continue investing in our people and communities, ensuring a relevant, resilient, and sustainable bank that meets the needs of current and future generations of Australians.”
Merger momentum builds
The Great Southern Bank-P&N Group proposal is the latest that P&N has explored.
In June 2024, it announced plans to combine with Beyond Bank in a deal that would have created an entity with around $20 billion in assets.
However, that proposal collapsed in September 2024 after P&N concluded that proceeding was “not in the best interests” of its members. Following a detailed due diligence process, P&N said undisclosed issues had been raised that prevented the deal from progressing.
Beyond Bank has since announced it is exploring a potential merger with Family First Credit Union (trading as Family First Bank), in a move that would expand its footprint deeper into regional NSW and further consolidate the country’s mutual banking sector.
It comes amid a string of mergers across the mutual banking sector.
Earlier this month, Summerland Bank and Regional Australia Bank moved one step closer to merging, after the prudential regulator gave the deal the green light.
The week before, Beyond Bank Australia announced it was exploring a potential merger with Family First Credit Union (trading as Family First Bank), in a move that would expand its footprint deeper into regional NSW and further consolidate the country’s mutual banking sector.
Meanwhile, in July, mutuals Bank Australia and Qudos Bank officially merged, bringing together 300,000 customers and forming a banking group with $18 billion in total assets and nearly 900 employees.
Earlier this year, Auswide Bank became a wholly owned subsidiary of MyState Limited, while G&C Mutual Bank and Unity Bank finalised their merger to form Unity Bank Limited from July 2025.
Other notable deals in recent years include the creation of People First Bank following the merger of Heritage Bank and People’s Choice and the consolidation of Greater Bank and Newcastle Permanent.
[Related: APRA gives green light to mutual bank merger]
