Commonwealth Bank facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Commonwealth Bank of Australia

1 Darling Park Headquarters, Sydney
Type	Public
Traded as	ASX: CBA S&P/ASX 200 component
ISIN	ISIN: [https://isin.toolforge.org/?language=en&isin=AU000000CBA7 AU000000CBA7]
Industry	Banking and financial services
Founded	22 December 1911; 113 years ago (1911-12-22) (government bank) 12 September 1991; 33 years ago (1991-09-12) (public company)
Headquarters	Darling Park Tower 1, 201 Sussex Street, Sydney, New South Wales , Australia
Number of locations	741 branches 1,956 ATMs
Areas served	Australia Asia New Zealand United Kingdom United States
Key people	Matt Comyn (CEO)
Services	CommBank services Consumer banking Corporate banking Credit cards Finance and insurance Global wealth management Investment banking Investment management Mortgages Private equity
Revenue	A$30.16 billion (2020)
Net income	A$9.63 billion (2020)
Total assets	A$1.215 trillion (2022)
Total equity	A$72.01 billion (2020)
Number of employees	53,395 (2022)
Divisions	CommBank divisions Business and Private Banking International Financial Services Institutional Banking and Markets Retail Banking Services Wealth Management
Subsidiaries	CommBank subsidiaries ASB Bank Bankwest Colonial First State CommInsure Commonwealth Securities Sovereign Limited

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), often called CommBank, is a very large Australian bank. It operates in many countries, including New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The bank offers many different financial services. These include banking for everyday people and businesses, helping manage money, offering insurance, and helping with investments.

As of August 2015, Commonwealth Bank was the biggest Australian company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. It owns other well-known brands like Bankwest, Colonial First State Investments, ASB Bank (in New Zealand), Commonwealth Securities (CommSec), and Commonwealth Insurance (CommInsure).

The bank was first started by the Australian Government in 1911. It became a fully private company in 1996. Commonwealth Bank is one of Australia's "big four" banks. The others are the National Australia Bank (NAB), ANZ, and Westpac. The bank's shares were first listed on the Australian Stock Exchange on September 12, 1991.

The main offices of Commonwealth Bank used to be in the Commonwealth Trading Bank Building and later the State Savings Bank Building in Sydney. In 2012, the headquarters moved to Tower 1, 201 Sussex Street, and two new buildings in Darling Harbour.

In 2018, a special investigation looked into how banks in Australia were operating. It found some serious concerns about how Commonwealth Bank was run. This led to changes to make sure customers are treated fairly. There were also issues where the bank charged fees for services that weren't provided, even to people who had passed away.

In 2022, Commonwealth Bank was ranked as one of the top 50 banks in the world.

History

Starting the Bank (1911–1919)

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia was created by a law called the Commonwealth Bank Act 1911. This law was introduced by the Andrew Fisher Labor government, which believed the government should own banks. The bank officially started on December 22, 1911. It was special because it handled both savings and general banking business. It was also the first bank in Australia to have its money guaranteed by the federal government. King O'Malley, a politician, was a strong supporter of the bank. Its first leader was Sir Denison Miller.

The bank opened its first branch in Melbourne on July 15, 1912. It also worked with Australia Post, allowing people to do banking at post offices. This partnership still exists today. In 1912, the bank took over the State Savings Bank of Tasmania. By 1913, it had branches in all six Australian states.

In 1916, the bank moved its main office to Sydney. It also followed the Australian army to New Guinea, opening a branch in Rabaul and other smaller offices.

Becoming a Central Bank (1920–1959)

The Commonwealth Trading Bank Building (1916-1960)

In 1920, the bank started to gain powers like a central bank. It took over the job of printing and issuing Australian bank notes from the government. Also in 1920, the Commonwealth Bank took over the Queensland Government Savings Bank.

In 1924, the government wanted to put more checks on the bank's power. They passed the Commonwealth Bank Act, 1924. This law created a seven-member Board of Directors to make big decisions. The board included the bank's leader, the head of the Treasury, and six directors from different industries.

In 1931, the bank's board disagreed with the government during the Great Depression. The bank's chairman, Sir Robert Gibson, refused to lend more money to help the economy unless the government cut pensions. The government refused, and this disagreement led to the government changing. This made the Labor party want more direct government control over the bank.

Also in 1931, the bank took over the savings business of the Government Savings Bank of New South Wales and the State Savings Bank of Western Australia.

In 1942, the bank stopped its operations in Papua New Guinea because of World War II. The bank started working there again later, possibly in 1944. It had many branches across Papua New Guinea to support trade, local businesses, and government.

During World War II, the Commonwealth Bank gained almost all central bank powers through special laws. After the war, it used this power to help the economy grow a lot. The government also expanded immigration programs, and the bank created a Migrant Information Service to help new arrivals. The bank grew quickly, opening hundreds of branches in Australia and a branch in the Solomon Islands by 1951.

In 1958 and 1959, there was a debate because the bank was acting as both a central bank and a regular commercial bank. So, the government separated these two roles. They created the Reserve Bank of Australia to be the central bank. The Commonwealth Banking Corporation then focused only on being a commercial bank. It had three main parts: the Commonwealth Trading Bank, the Commonwealth Savings Bank, and the new Commonwealth Development Bank.

Growing and Changing (1960–1991)

1980s logo

A new Commonwealth Development Bank was set up in 1960. In the 1970s, the bank started offering new services like insurance and travel. It also created a finance company called CBFC in 1974. The bank became more involved in trading foreign money and international banking.

The bank helped a lot with the change to decimal currency in Australia in 1966. Like most banks, it slowly moved its paper records to a new computer system. In 1974, the bank created the first credit card in Australia, called Bankcard. Later, it also started offering MasterCard (1984) and Visa (1993) cards.

In 1974, as Papua New Guinea was becoming independent, the bank officially handed over its operations there to the new Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation. The bank kept a small office in Port Moresby, which it closed in 1982.

In 1981, the bank transferred its operations in the Solomon Islands to the National Bank of Solomon Islands. The Commonwealth Bank owned 51% of this new bank.

In 1989, the bank bought 75% of ASB Bank in New Zealand.

In 1991, the bank bought the struggling Victorian Government-owned State Bank of Victoria.

Becoming a Private Company (1991–Present)

Logo used until 2020

48 Martin Place; the Commonwealth Bank's headquarters from 1990-2009

Between 1991 and 1996, the Australian Government fully sold the Commonwealth Bank to private investors. The government sold shares in three stages, raising a lot of money. Even though it's a public company, its official name doesn't end in 'Limited', which is unusual for Australian companies.

In 1994, Commonwealth sold its shares in the National Bank of Solomon Islands. In the same year, Commonwealth bought a 50% share in PT Bank International Indonesia.

On March 10, 2000, Commonwealth Bank and Colonial Limited announced they would join together. This merger was completed on June 13, 2000. This brought Colonial's share in Colonial National Bank (the former National Bank of Fiji) into the Commonwealth Bank group. The bank also bought the remaining 25% of ASB Bank.

To grow in Asia, the bank bought full ownership of PT Bank International Indonesia in 2000 and renamed it PT Bank Commonwealth. This bank now has many branches and offices in places like Bali.

In 2005, the bank made agreements with two Chinese banks, Jinan City Commercial Bank and Hangzhou City Commercial Bank. It bought shares in both. Commonwealth also opened an office in Bangalore, India.

On January 27, 2006, the bank bought the remaining 49% share in Colonial National Bank (Fiji).

The Commonwealth Bank's secondary headquarters at Darling Quarter

In early 2008, Commonwealth Bank opened a branch in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. In October, Commonwealth announced it had bought Bankwest and St Andrew's Insurances for about A$2.1 billion. Also, on December 24, Commonwealth announced it had bought Wizard Home Loans in a partnership with Aussie Home Loans.

In December 2009, Commonwealth sold Colonial National Bank to Bank of South Pacific.

The bank moved its ATM service desk from Adelaide to Sydney in March 2012. The bank plans to change its ATMs to Wincor Nixdorf ATMs in the future.

Commonwealth Bank has been recognized as a top employer in Australia in 2010 and 2011.

During a special investigation into banking in Australia, it was found that Commonwealth Bank had charged fees for services that were not provided. On May 9, 2018, Commonwealth Bank settled a case for $25 million. The bank admitted it had acted unfairly and changed interest rates five times between February and June 2012.

On November 16, 2023, the bank announced it would sell PT Bank Commonwealth to Bank OCBC NISP.

How the Bank is Organized

Customer Service Network

A Commonwealth Bank branch office

This part of the bank helps everyday people and small businesses. It offers bank accounts and loans to customers.

Premium Business Services

This section was divided into two parts in 2009: Institutional Banking & Markets (IB&M) and Business & Private Banking (B&PB). IB&M helps large companies and global markets. B&PB helps businesses and private banking customers.

Wealth Management

Wealth Management brings together the bank's services for managing money, superannuation (retirement savings), insurance, and financial advice. Companies like Colonial First State and CommInsure are part of Wealth Management.

Bank Leaders

Governors and Chief Executive Officers

Here are the people who have led the Commonwealth Bank of Australia:

Chairs of the Board

Where the Bank Operates Around the World

Commonwealth Bank has offices and businesses in many countries:

• Retail banks in New Zealand (ASB Bank), Turkey (CommBiz), and Indonesia (PT Bank Commonwealth).
• Investments in banks in China (Qilu Bank and Bank of Hangzhou) and Vietnam (Vietnam International Bank).
• Local banks in Hebei and Henan Provinces in China.
• Commonwealth Bank branches in big cities like London, New York City, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Auckland, Turkey, and Mumbai.
• Joint businesses for life insurance in Indonesia (PT Commonwealth Life) and China (BoCommLife).
• First State money management business in many countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and the United States.
• A representative office in Hanoi, Vietnam.
• A large office in Bangalore, India, that helps with global operations.

Products and Services

Commonwealth Bank is Australia's biggest bank for everyday people. It offers many products and services, including:

• Loans
• Credit cards
• Accounts for spending and saving money

It has the largest network of branches and ATMs in Australia. It also helps people who are planning to move to Australia.

NetBank

Commonwealth Bank offers online banking through NetBank. With NetBank, customers can move money, manage their accounts, and keep track of their savings goals. NetBank also has a mobile app for iOS and Android phones.

Beem It

Beem It is a free mobile app that lets people send money instantly. It used to be owned by Commonwealth Bank, NAB, and Westpac, but was later sold to Eftpos Australia. It allows users to pay, transfer, request, and split money with other registered users, no matter which bank they use.

Other Companies Owned by Commonwealth Bank

In Australia

• Bankwest
• Colonial First State
• CommInsure
• Commonwealth Securities

In Asia Pacific

• PT Bank Commonwealth (Indonesia)

In New Zealand

• ASB

In Turkey

• TR Commbiz (Turkey)

Sponsorships

Commonwealth Bank has been a big supporter of women's Cricket Australia since the 1990s.

In April 2021, Commonwealth Bank signed a four-year deal with Football Australia. This means they are the main sponsor for Australia's national women's football teams, including the Commonwealth Bank Matildas, Young Matildas, and Junior Matildas.

In November 2022, FIFA announced that Commonwealth Bank became an official supporter for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Bank Profits Each Year

Year	Profit
2010	$6.1 billion
2011	$6.8 billion
2012	$7.1 billion
2013	$7.8 billion
2014	$8.7 billion
2015	$9.1 billion
2016	$9.4 billion
2017	$9.8 billion
2018	$9.2 billion
2019	$8.4 billion
2020	$7.3 billion
2021	$8.65 billion
2022	$9.6 billion
2023	$10.16 billion

Images for kids

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  A friendly robot.

See also