Challenger Judo Bank to list on the ASX

Judo Capital Holdings Limited (Judo Bank) has announced today that it will list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) under the ticker code ‘JDO’, after a successful initial public offering (IPO) for its ordinary shares.

Judo Bank is the first challenger bank for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Australia and is the first fully licensed Australian bank to launch an IPO in 25 years. The IPO comes less than three years after Judo Bank was granted its full banking licence in April 2019.

The total IPO size was $657 million, recording strong interest from many institutional and retail investors. The offer price for the IPO was $2.10 per share, with an implied equity valuation of $2.3 billion.

Joseph Healy, CEO and co-founder at Judo Bank, said this is only the start of the company’s focus on expanding the reach of its relationship with banking services to more SME businesses nationwide.

“Since day one, Judo Bank’s purpose has been clear, to be Australia’s most trusted SME business bank by bringing back the craft of SME relationship banking.

“Banking as it used to be, banking as it should be,” he said.

Healy also said it has been hard for Australian SMEs in the past to secure the lending they need and the service they deserve to support and grow their businesses.

“They have been forced into a model that required them to contact their bank via a call centre; use their homes as collateral for business loans, and contend with a ‘computer says no’ approach to lending,” he said.

Judo Bank’s IPO aims to help more SMEs gain access to a relationship with a bank that understands their business and is willing to offer the necessary support.

In his welcome to both old and new shareholders, Healy thanked customers and the entire team at Judo Bank and highlighted the amount of support and interest the IPO received during the listing process.

“This is an important milestone for our business as we continue to deliver against our purpose, and build a truly world-class SME business bank,” he said.