News

The Mutual Bank holds a cherished place in the hearts of the Hunter community, and our new brand campaign beautifully captures this sentiment.  With its catchy tune, our “Make it yours” campaign is set to become a beloved anthem as it graces television screens and various advertising platforms.  This campaign is more than just an advertisement, it’s a celebration of our community and the unique bond we share with our Members, helping them achieve their goals and to thrive.  At the very heart of it, the “Make It Yours” campaign is about the customer-owned banking model and the pride we have in being a mutual organisation. What is a mutual bank? Well, when you join The Mutual Bank, you're not just a customer – you become a Member. This means you have a stake in the organisation and a voice in how it operates. You are part of something bigger, a community that values your input and cares about your well-being.  Our profits are not just numbers on a balance sheet; they are reinvested back into improving products and services for you and supporting grassroots community organisations. From local footy clubs to cultural events, our profits go back into supporting our community. When you bank with The Mutual Bank, you are supporting your local community, helping businesses grow, and creating local employment opportunities.  We are proud to be part of the community we serve.  The “Make it yours” campaign also highlights the beauty of the Hunter Region and features some of our valued Members. You'll see stunning locations like the river at Morpeth, Maitland Levee, Maitland netball courts at Maitland Park, Dungog Wholefood Co-Operative, and cross-code superstar Sheridan Gallagher with Maitland Football Club juniors. We also showcase local businesses SRH Milk Haulage in Rutherford and Elbourne Wines in Pokolbin.  Our wonderful Team Members are also featured in the campaign.  The campaign is set to an original song called "Yours to Love," which perfectly captures the essence of our message. The “Make it yours” campaign is all about our connection with the community and how we help both our Members and the community to thrive. With themes like "Your Life, Your Freedom, Your Memories, Your Team, Your Passion," The Mutual Bank can truly “make it yours”.  We collaborated with Jamie Lewis, a seasoned Hunter-based Creative Director with more than 22 years of experience, to bring this campaign to life. Jamie has a proven track record of helping clients achieve their goals and drive growth across various industries, including finance, housing, retail, heavy industry, and education.  Join us in celebrating our community and the people who make it special. 

The Mutual Bank has joined the fight for a better deal to meet the increasing costs of helping its regional customers who need access to cash, and trained assistance in dealing with scams and fraud. Our CEO Mark Williams said The Mutual Bank’s seven branches play a key role in supporting the communities it serves but, like many small regional banks, are challenged with avoiding becoming “pass-through” branches for the major banks. The Mutual Bank has joined an alliance of 19 regional banks calling for the introduction of a shared cost model to support the vital services provided by bank branches in regional communities such as cash handling, assistance for seniors or people with a disability and support with scams and fraud. Under a shared cost model, big banks whose regional branch investment falls short of the industry average would be required to assist. As such, the model will ensure that all banks meet or exceed those baseline expectations, either directly through their own regional branch network, or via the shared costs model. “The Mutual Bank’s purpose is to champion financial wellbeing for our Members and regional communities, to help people thrive, and our branch network plays a vital role in achieving that purpose” said Mark. “Big banks that profit most from Australia’s financial system should be required to share the cost of supporting essential regional banking infrastructure in regional, rural and remote Australia as a fundamental part of their community service obligation.  Regional bank branches are vital to these communities because they provide key services such as cash handling, advice to customers as well as help in handling scams and fraud”. “The Mutual Bank is the only bank in Dungog and Mayfield and has fulfilled a much-needed gap for those communities in being able to access essential banking services.” Mark said while the bank had seen an increase in customers and branch transactions in those locations, the challenge remained to ensure it was not simply acting as a conduit to funnel funds back to the major banks who have withdrawn their support in those communities. “Our bank branches offer secure services and personal, professional advice that cannot be replaced by post offices or ATMs,” he said. The alliance is also calling for regional banks to be a part of discussions about the future of Armaguard and cash-in-transit services which are more expensive for regional banks.

We are thrilled to announce that our Business Cheque Account has been recognised by Mozo for its exceptional value and quality.  Mozo has been helping consumers make informed purchase decisions for more than a decade, evaluating thousands of products on the market, to help consumers make more informed financial decisions.  The Mozo Experts Choice Awards showcase the best products and services in the marketplace which offer exceptional value or quality for Australians.  The Mutual Bank’s Business Cheque Account has won a Mozo Award in the Small Business Exceptional Everyday Account category.  Mozo analysed 622 personal, business and Self-Managed Super Funds products from 85 providers across all categories when deciding the winners.  The Mutual Bank’s Chief Member Officer, Matthew Dunnill, said the Mozo win highlighted why The Mutual Bank’s Business Banking is one of the Hunter’s best kept secrets.  “Our Business Banking Managers have the local knowledge, depth of experience and authority to move fast to support your business growth goals,” said Matthew.  “We also offer innovative solutions and competitive products to help small business owners.   “Our Business Cheque Account is a great example of fuss-free support, offering at-call access to your funds with no monthly account-keeping fee.”  The Business Cheque Account win follows The Mutual Bank’s Budget Home Loan winning a Mozo Award three years running.  You can read more information about the Mozo Experts Choice Awards and the full list of winners here.  Keen to know more? Learn more about our award-winning Business Cheque Account and how it can benefit your business here. 

For the third year running, The Mutual Bank’s Budget Home Loan* has won a Mozo Experts Choice Home Loan Award in the coveted Low-Cost Home Loan category. The Mozo Experts Choice Awards have been helping consumers make informed purchase decisions for over a decade, with their extensive award selection process evaluating thousands of products. The Mutual Bank’s CEO, Mark Williams, said the triple win for the Budget Home Loan was fantastic news for the Hunter-based bank. “Our commitment to offering competitive products and making our Members’ mortgage journey more manageable has been recognised for the third year with a win in these awards, and that recognition highlights our dedication to helping people thrive,” he said. “We know people are always looking for better value products and services, particularly given the cost-of-living pressures.  Our Budget Home Loan has been consistently popular with home buyers looking for a no-frills home loan with a low, variable interest rate that is complemented by personalised and attentive service.” AJ Duncanson, Data Director and Mozo Experts Choice Awards Judge said The Mozo Experts Choice Home Loan Awards for 2025 help Aussie consumers cut through the noise and identify great value options. “The Mutual Bank’s Budget Home Loan stood out for its combination of a low interest rate and the fact it has no application fee and no monthly or annual service fee - features that can make a real difference to borrowers looking to keep costs down,” he said. Mozo considered thousands of rate variants across 444 home loans from 97 lenders.  For the Low Cost Home Loan category, the Mozo judges assessed variable rate loans for owner-occupier borrowers making principal and interest repayments, identifying these as the lowest cost for several different loan-to-value ratios. More information about the Mozo Experts Choice Awards and the full list of winners here. *The Mozo Experts Choice Low Cost Home Loan award was awarded to The Mutual Bank’s Budget Home Loan Special Variable Rate for owner-occupied loans with ≤80% LVR and Principal and Interest repayments. Eligibility and lending criteria, terms, conditions, fees, and charges apply and are available on application.

For the second year running, The Mutual Bank’s Budget Home Loan* has won a Mozo Experts Choice Home Loan Award in the Low Cost Home Loan award category. The win follows the news earlier this month that The Mutual Bank’s Budget Home Loan was named one of the best refinance home loans in the market with a 2024 RateCity Gold Award. The Mozo Experts Choice Awards have been helping consumers make informed purchase decisions for the past 10 years and their extensive award selection process evaluates thousands of products. For the Low Cost Home Loan category the Mozo judges assessed 270 variable rate loans for owner-occupier borrowers, making principal and interest repayments, and identified these as the lowest cost for several different loan-to-value ratios. The Mutual Bank’s CEO, Mark Williams, said the double win for the Budget Home Loan was fantastic news for the Hunter-based bank. “Our commitment to offer competitive products has been recognised with these two awards, and that recognition highlights our commitment to helping people thrive,” he said. “We know the cost-of-living pressure means people are looking to trim their budgets where they can, and our Budget Home Loan has been consistently popular with home buyers looking for a no-frills home loan with a low, variable interest rate.” Mozo Experts Choice Awards Judge Peter Marshall said when it comes to choosing a home loan, key factors that people look for are competitive rates, low fees and a lender they can trust. “The Mutual Bank has demonstrated that it delivers on all three fronts,” he said. “This is the second year running that the Budget Home Loan has taken out a coveted award in the low cost home loan category, and is to be congratulated on this achievement. “These awards were designed to showcase the products in the market that deliver best value and The Mutual Bank is a great example of a small member-owned challenger competing with the big guys.” * The Mozo Experts Choice Low Cost Home Loan award was awarded to The Mutual Bank’s Budget Home Loan Special Variable Rate for owner occupied loans with ≤80% LVR and Principal and Interest repayments. Eligibility and lending criteria, terms, conditions, fees and charges apply and are available on application.