Our story

A bank by teachers, for teachers

For over 50 years Teachers Mutual Bank has provided key financial services to Australian educators. Now, Teachers Mutual Bank Limited is one of Australia’s largest mutual banks, comprising four divisions: the original Teachers Mutual Bank, UniBank, Firefighters Mutual Bank, and Health Professionals Bank. With over 230,000 members and more than $10 billion in assets, Teachers Mutual Bank Limited is one of Australia’s largest mutual banks. Teachers Mutual Bank continues to be passionate about assisting members secure their financial futures through superior member support and banking products.

Teachers Mutual Bank Limited is a market leader in member advocacy in the Australian banking sector, and is also committed to strong standards of corporate responsibility through community investment and ethical business as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies^®.

Our success was born out of a dream and a vision to give teachers and their families better financial options. For three years the founding members worked tirelessly to gain approval to launch the Credit Union. With volunteers processing work it wasn’t long before teachers used their lunch hours to bank with us. Our members saw this as same day service and thus began our strong service ethic.

From humble beginnings...

Building on 47 years of success as a mutual financial institution, we asked members to support our proposal to change our name. After an overwhelming response at both our AGM and through proxy votes in November 2011, and gaining APRA approval in early 2012, we became Teachers Mutual Bank in April 2012.

Becoming a mutual bank will allow us to strengthen our competitiveness in the financial services market. This means we can create better products and services, reduce our costs and pass the savings directly on to you.

We may have changed to Teachers Mutual Bank, but our philosophy hasn’t. We’re committed to helping you save money, build wealth and enjoy financial wellbeing throughout your lifetime. We never forget that it’s our members who benefit from our financial performance. That’s why we have always put you first.

We focus on five pillars of sustainable business practices being:

• Good governance 
• Operational excellence 
• Sound financial performance 
• Excellent member relations 
• Environmental and community responsibility

We’re advocates for you. We’re here to give teachers and their families better options and ultimately, a better way of life. So while some things have changed, one thing will always stay the same. And that’s our unwavering commitment to our members.

Timeline

• 1966
  Founding board Members: Joseph Stone (Chairman), Betty Shearman, Bryan Priest, Colin Thomson, Vernon Wildy, Cecil Norgate, Douglas Wale, Bob Dobson (Treasurer), and Dennis Stewart (secretary). The Hornsby Teachers Association Credit Union was formed on 27th September 1966 in response to a group of teachers recognising the need for a mutual financial organisation that understood their needs.
• 1967
  Name changed to NSW Teachers Credit Union at the first Annual Meeting on 20th September
• 1969
  Sheila Davison became our first employee and we had 532 members
• 1970
  Ken Miller was appointed General Manager
• 1974
  Bill Paying Service introduced
• 1976
  Cash withdrawals became available
• 1977
  Members’ records were computerised
• 1980
  Telecheque was introduced allowing members to call and request a cheque withdrawal
• 1982
  Redi-Access Network utilising other Credit Unions' offices for deposits and withdrawals was introduced
• 1983
  Redicard and the Rediteller ATM Network began and teachers were able to direct all their pay to the Credit Union
• 1984
  Rooty Hill office opened to service the Western Sydney area
• 1985
  Point of Sale (POS) machines and Cheque Books were introduced
• 1987
  Ken Miller retired as General Manager. The membership was 58,000. John Prescott was appointed as General Manager
• 1994
  Pay for non-Department of Education members was able to be deposited electronically
• 2001
  John Prescott retired as General Manager. The membership was 104,785 with assets of $923 million. Stuart Gillies appointed as Chief Executive
• 2005
  Stuart Gillies retired as Chief Executive. The membership was 129,617 with assets of $1.5 billion. Steve James appointed as Chief Executive
• 2006
  Celebrated our 40th Anniversary
• 2007
  Membership exceeds 143,000 with assets exceeding $1.8 billion, office opened in Canberra
• 2008
  Membership exceeds 155,000 with assets exceeding $2.4 billion, office opened in Perth.
  Merger with TAFE and Community Credit Union
• 2009
  Received first place in CHOICE magazine's survey on personal banking satisfaction
• 2010
  Our name is officially changed to Teachers Credit Union reflecting our status as a multi-state Credit Union. Assets reach $3 billion in June
• 2012
  The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) approves our name change to Teachers Mutual Bank and our status changed from a credit union to a bank effective 1 April 2012 
• 2014
  Named as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies*

Our buildings over time