Australian Military Bank - more than a name change

Australian Defence Credit Union Limited (ADCU) has taken a major step, building on its commitment to the Defence Community, by revealing plans to change its name to Australian Military Bank Ltd.

CEO John Ford said that the move to rebrand as Australian Military Bank forms part of the organisation’s greater strategy for ongoing growth and commitment to improvement.

“It’s not just about a name change. Member expectations are rising in terms of access and timeliness. In response, ADCU has made a considerable investment over the past two years to enhance our service offering and relevance to members.” CEO John Ford said.

ADCU has recently released a new mobile banking app, mobile optimised website and online application system. Mr Ford said “We have substantially improved our digital service delivery and are continually looking at ways to speed up our loan processes from application to fulfilment.” 

“Becoming a mutual bank is the next major step in delivering on our brand promise which includes being dedicated to serving the Defence Community”.

“We increasingly find young Defence recruits don’t understand what a credit union is, whereas the word ‘bank’ is generic and readily understood. We believe that Australian Military Bank will clearly communicate who we serve and what we do”.

Chairman of the ADCU Board, RADM Clinton Thomas said “Strong support for our new brand within the Defence Community is critically important to us.”

“For this reason, we commissioned independent research with members of each of the three (3) Defence services”.

“We researched a variety of names and our members expressed a strong preference for the name Australian Military Bank. They viewed it as strong, unambiguous and patriotic.”

The Board of ADCU is recommending members vote in favour of the name change at the Annual General Meeting in October. If passed and subject to approval from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), for the unconditional use of the restricted word ‘bank’, ADCU will convert to a Mutual Bank from 1 December 2015.

CAPTION:  Chairman of the ADCU Board, RADM Clinton William Thomas AM, CSC, RAN and CEO John Ford present Australian Military Bank to the public

About ADCU:

ADCU has been providing banking services to the greater Defence community since 1959. They are an Authorised Deposit Taking Institution with branches on major Australian Defence bases, over 48,000 members and funds under management of $1.10 billion. ADCU is regulated by APRA.

Learn more about the new ADCU mobile banking app: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf_UOU5HUIQ

Learn more about the new ADCU website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zw34WnNetA