Summerhayes to chair Heartland Bank Australia

The chair of Zurich Australia and New Zealand and former Suncorp Life chief executive, Geoff Summerhayes will become the inaugural chair of the new Heartland Bank Australia Board founded on the acquisition of Challenger Bank.

Summerhayes, who is already chair of the Heartland Board, will resign that position to take up the Heartland Bank Australia role.

Heartland Group announced yesterday that it had received indicative regulatory approval for its acquisition of Challenger Bank and expects to complete the transaction on 30 April.

At the same time, Heartland announced a NZ$210 million equity raise consistent with meeting regulatory requirements.

Heartland’s announcement said that the Challenger Bank acquisition is a critical step in the company’s strategy for expansion in the Australian market and achieving its long-term growth ambitions.

“Completing the Challenger Bank acquisition will make Heartland Bank the first New Zealand registered bank to acquire and Australian Authorised Deposit-taking Institution,” it said.

“Subject to completion, under Heartland Bank’s ownership, Challenger Bank will be rebranded to Heartland Bank Australia,” the announcement said.

It said that once Heartland Australia becomes part of Heartland Bank Australia, it will be the only specialist bank provider of both reverse mortgages and livestock finance in Australia,” it said.