BankWest welcomed the Australian Government's announcement on 12 October 2008 that Australians' deposits in Australian owned banks, locally incorporated subsidiaries of foreign banks, credit unions and building societies will be guaranteed, effective immediately.
As an eligible Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (ADI) within Australia, all deposits held by BankWest are covered by this guarantee.
The guarantee is one part of a three-pronged plan to safeguard Australians from the fallout from the global financial crisis and devised to protect deposits in Australian banks.
The Government announcement covers all deposits in an eligible ADI within Australia.
For deposits under $1 million, the guarantee will be free. For deposits over $1 million a fee will be charged to receive the benefit of the deposit guarantee. Details of the way this will work are currently being finalised.
BankWest Managing Director Simon Walsh said BankWest is a strong, well established Australian business which is fully regulated by APRA.
"As an Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (ADI) within Australia, BankWest welcomes this announcement that gives more confidence to customers in these difficult financial times," he said.
"We expect that this will return confidence to savers and end recent uncertainty in the Australian deposit market."
The guarantee is effective immediately and will be reviewed at the end of a three year period.
"Consumers have been concerned about the security of their savings given the current economic climate and the guarantee from the Government gives them certainty in the short and medium term," Mr Walsh said.
The decision to guarantee all bank deposits brings Australia into closer alignment with other countries that have recently established their own bank deposit guarantees in an effort to combat the deepening global financial crisis.
The Commonwealth Bank has recently agreed to acquire BankWest from HBOS plc. This is subject to regulatory approvals, but once completed will further strengthen our position and ability to offer customers great products and service.
Read the Prime Minister's announcement made on 12 October 2008 or for more information visit the Treasury Website.
