Our history

To view our St.George milestones, roll your mouse over a year.

St.George's early origins trace back to South Australia where the two banks which later merged to form BankSA, opened their doors for business.

The St.George's Co-operative Building Society opened.

The merger between St.George and the Cronulla district Co-operative Building Societies sees the building society grow to 38 branches.

Happy Dragon made his first appearance. Since then, he's made thousands of appearances at children's homes, hospitals, schools, and of course, St.George events.

St.George was the first building society to go online.

St.George assets hit $1 billion and made it the largest building society in Australia with 130 branches and 800 staff.

St.George's first EFTPOS machines were installed.

The St.George Foundation was established as a registered charity with a commitment to enhance the quality of life for Australia's children by providing financial support and leadership.

Jim Sweeny appointed Chief Executive Officer

St.George achieved full banking status and acquired its banking licence.

St.George expanded its services to commercial customers when it acquired the Commercial Banking division of Barclays, making St.George a full service bank.

Leading the market, St.George launched online electronic banking to business customers, accessible through personal computers and new software.

St.George launched Business Banking with a competitive range of borrowing facilities and a business cheque account.

BankSA merged with Advance Bank. In 1997, St.George merged with Advance and became the fifth largest bank in Australia in terms of total assets.

Ed O'Neal was appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.

St.George purchased SEALCORP, a leader in the provision of personal savings and investment products.

St.George acquired KPMG Financial Services.

St.George acquired the Scottish Pacific Business Finance Group, a provider of cashflow solutions to Australian small and medium enterprises.

Following the trend towards electronic banking, St.George launched a new distribution channel - dragondirect.

Following the sudden death of Ed O'Neal in September, Gail Kelly is appointed as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.

St.George Bank acquired Deutsche Bank's Australian margin lending business, offering customers a simple, flexible and smart way to build their wealth.

On 1 July 2002, St.George celebrated ten years of full banking status.

St.George Bank announced the joint venture with Foodstuffs, New Zealand's largest supermarket retailer to establish Superbank.

The St.George Group now employs more than 7,400 people, with over 400 branches across Australia.

St.George announces record financial results, with an increase in profit of 20% over the previous year.

St.George is the first bank to launch SMS Alerts, providing customers with the ability to use their mobile phones to monitor their bank and credit card accounts.

St.George made a donation of $250,000 to be shared equally between AUSTCARE and the Australian Red Cross towards the Tsunami relief effort. St.George also assisted the Australian Red Cross and AUSTCARE by accepting donations through any St.George branch or via Internet Banking.

St.George Margin Lending was again awarded a Five Star rating by independent research group CANNEX. St.George Margin Lending is awarded this enviable Five Star rating on six consecutive occasions since 2002.

The St.George Group reached two major milestones in 2006. We achieved an after tax result of over $1 billion for the first time in history and exceeded $100 billion in assets compared to $52 billion in 2001.

These achievements are the result of substantial investment in our business, a consistent organic growth strategy and the dedication of St.George's people.

St.George continues to grow having increased our staff numbers by more than 1,000 in the last 5 years.

The St.George Group further expands into both Queensland and Western Australia, opening over 11 additional branches.

Cementing our position as Australia's fifth largest lender, St.George achieved a balance of $70 billion in home lending, now helping more than 400,000 Australians own their own home.

St.George achieved record results in the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction survey, reflecting the Group's focus on delivering the best service to our customers each time, every time.