History
In 1874 the Brisbane Permanent Benefit Building and Investment Society was established as the first permanent building society formed in Queensland. The Society incorporated in 1887. The company amalgamated with City and Suburban Building Society in 1921. The company amalgamated with Queensland Deposit Bank a decade later.
The company received a licence to operate as a trading bank in 1942. Until this point, what became the Bank of Queensland was a savings bank come building society, not a 'trading bank'. The company changed its name to Bank of Queensland (BOQ) and computerised its operations in 1970. 1971 saw the bank become a publicly traded company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
The bank incorporated Bank of Queensland Savings Bank as a wholly owned subsidiary in 1982. In 1991 BOQ acquired Stowe Electronic Switching Pty Ltd and renamed it Queensland Electronic Switching Pty Ltd. In 1999, Bank of Hawaii bought 5.8 m shares (approx. 10%) in Bank of Queensland. Two years later Bank of Hawaii sold its 6.2 m shares and 5.4 m convertible notes in Bank of Queensland to refocus on its operations in Hawaii. BOQ acquired the equipment financing business of UFJ Bank in Australia and New Zealand in 2003. The bank also acquired ATM Solutions, giving it the second largest ATM network in Australia.
In 2004, BOQ opened branches in New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory. The following year BOQ acquired the $78 million debtor finance division of ORIX Australia, further strengthening BoQ's position in the debtor finance industry. 2006 saw BOQ acquire Queensland-based Pioneer Permanent Building Society and opened branches in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Bank of Queensland merged with Western Australia-based Home Building Society, the Mackay Permanent Building Society and the Queensland-based Pioneer Permanent Building Society in 2007.
In 2010, BOQ purchased St Andrew's Insurance. St Andrew's is an Australian manufacturer of consumer credit insurance products. It also acquired the Australian and New Zealand divisions of CIT Group Inc, a leading supplier of vendor finance to small businesses and middle market companies. In 2011, the bank experienced a profit slump due to lending losses from the 2010–2011 Queensland floods.
Read more about this topic: Bank Of Queensland
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