The merger will officially take effect from 1 July 2026.

Regional Australia Bank and Summerland Bank will proceed with a merger after members approved the move at their Annual General Meetings this week.

Summerland’s members met on November 19 with more than 96 per cent of the members voting in favour of the merger, whilst the Regional Australia Bank members voted on November 20 with also more than 96 per cent approving the move.

The merger will officially take effect from 1 July 2026. Once merged, the combined entity will manage assets of over $5 billion and service over 130,000 members with 49 locations across a large area of regional NSW and southern Queensland.

As part of the proposed merger, both banks reaffirmed that there will be no branch closures, no staff losses and accounts, services, and support will continue as usual.

Speaking following the outcome of the vote, Regional Australia Bank CEO, David Heine said, “We are thrilled that our members have embraced this merger. Today’s vote reinforces our commitment to regional Australia by growing our ability to serve more towns and communities throughout regional NSW and into Queensland.”

Regional Australia Chair, Michael Fenech said, “Our members have voted to merge two strong mutual banks into one stronger customer-owned bank that will serve our members and regional communities even better.

“Together we will be able to provide members with wider access to personalised face-to-face banking, sharper pricing and new products underpinned by the same great service.”

Summerland Bank CEO, John Williams said, “Summerland Bank and Regional Australia Bank share the vision and values as a community-focussed customer-owned bank. By approving the merger our members will enjoy more branches, greater support for local communities, a wider range of products and better services.

“Resilience will be supported through shared infrastructure, broader geographic reach, and increased financial capacity—allowing us to continue delivering personalised service while adapting to changing market conditions.”

Summerland Bank Board Chair, Colin Sales said, “This merger is more than a structural change — it’s a shared vision for a stronger, more sustainable future in regional banking.

“For our members, it reflects our commitment to maintaining a local presence, enhancing service delivery, and building a bank that’s better equipped to meet the evolving needs of our communities.”

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Mr Williams joins Chi-X with over 20 years’ experience working in the capital markets industry. Most recently John was Head of Admissions at the National Stock Exchange of Australia, where he led the development of an admissions strategy and technology solution from the ground-up while ensuring full alignment with regulatory requirements.

Prior to this, he held several key senior roles at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) across ten years, including General Manager Listings Operations, Senior Manager Market Access, and Manager Clearing and Settlement Operations.

Commenting on the appointment, Chi-X Australia CEO Vic Jokovic said: “We are excited to welcome John to the Chi-X team. His deep knowledge of financial technology systems, infrastructure and strategy makes him a valuable addition to our management team.”

Based in Sydney, Mr Williams will be responsible for execution of the organisation’s day-to-day operational business strategy and commitment to excellent customer service.

Chi-X Australia plays a key role in the development and growth of Australian capital and investment markets through product innovation, which is delivering cost savings and deeper liquidity to investors.

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Rebecca Sheils

At an inaugural event in Sydney on Tuesday night, the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and the Beddoes Institute announced winners of the new Consumer Choice Awards which recognise the best insurers as rated by advised policyholders and claimants.

Based on results of in-depth research conducted by the Beddoes Institute, the Award Winners of the top three categories are:

• Most Recommended Company – BT Financial Group – Winner
• Honouring Commitments – TAL – One Path and BT Financial Group – Dual Winners
• Best Total Customer Experience – BT Financial Group– Winner

The AFA Consumer Choice Awards are based on customer ratings from more than 2,100 consumers across all major life insurance companies. Claimant awards reflect the opinions of surveyed policyholders who are going through or who have gone through the claims process, while policyholder awards reflect the views of all surveyed policyholders.

Speaking at the event, National’s Senator John Williams said the insurance and advice industries were helping to build a better life for more Australians.

“Unless you are really wealthy and have millions in the bank, you need insurance to get you through life. You mean a lot to a lot of people.”

Last night’s gala event held at the InterContinental Hotel in Sydney, was attended by FSC CEO Sally Loane, Senator Williams, insurance providers, the AFA Board and advisers.

According to AFA CEO Brad Fox, the Consumer Choice Awards are an important part of its role as a leading professional body as they bring the Association closer to the consumer.

“All parties – insurers, advisers, and product manufacturers – need to call out actions that don’t reach the highest standards and not wait for the media or consumers to call them out.”

Beddoes Institute’s Dr Rebecca Sheils said: “We saw a gap between perceptions of customers and the experience of claimants, and we believe these awards and our research go some way to addressing this.”

Life companies needed at least 50 customer ratings to be eligible for a policyholder choice award or claimant choice award. All claimants from participating companies in the previous 12 months were invited to contribute and 25% to 30% responded, which is a significant number for this type of research and much higher than expected.

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Senator John Williams

Nationals Senator for NSW, Senator John Williams will be guest speaker at the Inaugural Consumer Choice Awards (the Awards) to be held on 15th November at the InterContinental Hotel in Sydney.

Senator Williams has built a strong profile as the face of Parliament’s focus on the insurance sector and a voice for consumers. On 14 September 2016, the Senate agreed to a motion from Senator John Williams to refer the life insurance industry to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services.

Senator Williams will be addressing the industry at the Consumer Choice Awards event.

“These Awards acknowledge that when you put the spotlight on the life insurance industry examples of excellent consumer service are brought to light in addition to areas where consumers could benefit from renewed focus,” AFA President Marc Bineham said.

These Awards recognise the best practices and teams in the industry, those on the other end of the spectrum to the examples Senator Williams normally sees. Based on the Beddoes Institute’s 2016 Policyholder Perceptions Study and the Claimant Journey Study that form part of an ongoing Life Insurance Performance Barometer, these Awards include the Policyholder Awards, the Claimant Awards, and overall Consumer Choice Awards.

The Consumer Choice Awards will recognise the company that is performing best at putting customers first and honouring their commitments to customers.

The Claimant Choice Awards will acknowledge the companies that are performing best at helping claimants return to health and wellness. In addition companies with the best claims staff, application process, the fastest turnaround time and the best ongoing claims management will be recognised.

The 2016 Consumer Choice Awards are a joint initiative of the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and the Beddoes Institute. These Awards give people who hold life insurance policies (policyholders) via financial advisers and people who make claims (claimants) on those policies, a strong voice in shaping the future of Life insurance in Australia by recognising the companies that are performing well in the eyes of consumers.

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