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Murray Ward
BNK Banking Corporation has removed the “interim” tags from its two most senior executives, appointing Steve Kinsella as its permanent chief executive officer and Judith Newman as its permanent chief financial officer.
The appointments, which are effective immediately and subject to final regulatory approvals, lock in the leadership duo that has been steering the branchless bank since early April in an interim capacity. The move comes as the entire banking sector continues its seismic shift toward digital and branchless models, where disciplined execution is paramount.
Mr Kinsella and Ms Newman stepped into the interim roles on April 2 this year following the departure of former chief executive officer, Allan Savins. Kinsella was the company CFO before being elevated to the CEO on an interim basis.
BNK chairman Jon Denovan said: “I have great confidence in both Steve and Judith, having worked with them closely for a considerable period. I am comfortable that BNK is well served by securing the continued involvement of these two key individuals”.
The move comes after BNK recently revealed its commercial loan book had surged past $210 million, a 100 per cent increase from the prior corresponding period.
‘The board has great confidence in their abilities to continue driving the company strategy.’
BNK Banking Corporation Chairman Jon Denovan
At last report, the company’s total loan book was sitting just shy of a billion-dollars at $984 million with total deposits topping $1.027 billion. The bank posted a statutory profit after tax of $414,000 for the last quarter, with its net interest margin sitting at a healthy 2.11 per cent.
BNK started life as the Goldfields Credit Union in Kalgoorlie back in 1982 and has since evolved into a 100 per cent online, branchless bank.
Mr Kinsella will now drive BNK’s key strategy to shift away from a pure focus on residential home loans and into higher-margin segments, including the small to medium enterprise market and structured credit investments.
He previously held roles at CBA where he was the CFO of Institutional banking and markets and at ABN Amro where he undertook CFO roles as far afield as London and also in the Asia Pacific region including Australia.
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