IMB Bank 140 Year Timeline

THE PROPOSAL

In Wollongong, a small agricultural town south of Sydney, moves were afoot to build the foundation for a building society. As 1880 opened, Mr Robert Boyd wrote a letter to the Wollongong Argus describing the advantages of a building society to working men, “enabling them to become their own landlords, and to stand on the threshold of their own door and with justifiable pride exclaim ‘This is my own home!’”

The application was signed on April 6 and by April 10, the Illawarra Mutual Building Society was a reality.

Pictured: This 1887 illustration of Wollongong shows a growing port and agricultural hub.

1880

EARLY SUCCESS

In May, the first Annual General Meeting of IMB Bank was held. Chairman George Hewlett reported that the society 'managed to hold its own and a little more'. Investing shares were paid 5%.

Pictured: Lower Crown St, Wollongong c1881

1881

IMB WEATHERS ITS FIRST FINANCIAL STORM

The year began with a spiralling 1893 banking crisis brought about by the collapse of the Australian land boom after 1888. By the time the Stock Market crashed in the Unted States in May, 11 Australian commercial banks had temporarily or permanently closed their doors and a general economic depression had begun. Despite the pressure, IMB remained steadfast.

Pictured: A financial crash in Australia went all the way to Wall Street.

1893

WARTIME & BEYOND

With the country fully committed to the horrors of Gallipoli and the Western Front, IMB Directors reported that the economic strain was also felt at home. “If not for the present deplorable war,” they reported, “the past year would have been a record one."

Indeed, the war's end in 1918 would start a prosperous run for the growing building society through the 1920s.

Pictured: Crown St Wollongong, from Church Street to Kembla Street, in the early 20th century. IMB had offices in the right hand building from 1909, before crossing the road in 1915.

1915

THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Australia was breaking a record, but not a happy one. The peak of the Great Depression saw unprecedented unemployment at 32%. This was not the first major economic challenge faced by IMB, but it was by far the most devastating. IMB worked with their members, often suspended payments until the worst of the collapse was over.

Pictured: Much of the country was on the move and homeless, searching for work.

1932

WOLLONGONG’S PHENOMENAL GROWTH

With the years ticking by since the end of WWII, Wollongong took the crown in 1955 for being Australia’s fastest growing city. This was largely thanks to the job opportunities at the Port Kembla Steelworks. 1955 was also a momentous year for IMB, with our assets under management reaching 1 million pounds.

Pictured: The Port Kembla Steelworks is synonymous with the Illawarra’s growth and success, providing employment and sparking a huge post-WWII European migration to the area.

1955

IMB DOUBLES IN SIZE IN THREE YEARS

In the three years between Elvis Presley’s breakthrough recording “That’s Alright Mama” and his draft into the US Army, IMB’s assets under management had doubled in size to reach 2 million pounds.

Pictured: Crown St in the 1960s, IMB offices in the centre.

1958

FROM POUNDS TO DOLLARS

IMB was recording strong growth, now worth $20 million dollars. Yes, 1966 was the year that Australians waved goodbye to the pound and hello to the dollar. If Prime Minister Robert Menzies had gotten his way, we would all be buying our coffees and sandwiches in ‘Royals’. Quite.

Pictured: What would Australia have been like had we opted for decimal ‘Royals’ instead of Dollars?

1966

PUT IT ON A T-SHIRT

During this year, 1,059 families financed their homes through IMB. This was more than double the number of homes that had been financed just 10 years earlier. In a nod to its growing place within the community, IMB’s first official logo was introduced.

Pictured: One of IMB’s Junior Savers flies the flag (well, balloon) in this clipping from the Illawarra Mercury.

1970

BIGGER, BETTER, BRIGHTER

IMB establishes a new Head Office and branch at 110 Crown St. New branches pop up through the early 1970s, with expansion into Wollongong’s suburbs, as far south as Eden and west to Campbelltown.

Pictured: The IMB’s custom-built head office and flagship branch at 110-116 Crown Street, Wollongong.

1971

100 YEARS!

IMB celebrates its centenary as an integral part of the community with a new logo and street parade, while phenomenal growth sees a move to a new building in Crown Street.

Pictured: The Wollongong Lighthouse has long been a symbol of solidity for IMB. As part of our centenary we put it on wheels!

1980

GO WEST

In a move west towards Canberra, IMBs Goulburn Branch opens with the Queanbeyan branch following in 1987.

Pictured: The IMB Goulburn Team in 1986.

1981

CASHCARD ARRIVES

IMB launches five Cashcard ATMs through the network, one of the first financial institutions to begin rolling out the technology. It’s a move typical with IMB’s continued embrace and development of new technologies.

Pictured: One year on, the IMB Cashcard Team celebrates the 1st anniversary of the Cashcard roll out.

1983

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

1984 Both the $1 coin and $100 note go into circulation. IMB switches to an in-house computer system building a $340,000 new computer centre.

Pictured: Dedication to superior service includes superior technology.

1984

SYDNEY BOUND

IMB begins its expansion north into Australia’s largest market, Sydney, with the opening of the Wynyard branch. Interest rates on home mortgages reach a staggering 17% in 1989. Today, IMB has 15 branches in the Sydney Metropolitan area.

Pictured: IMB was also publishing its own member magazine through this period. Buzzy Bee has enjoyed several incarnations through the last 50 years.

1989

IMB COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

The IMB Bank Community Foundation is established offering funding for community projects run by charities and not-for-profit groups. These projects are grassroots and diverse, big and small. The incredible work done by the groups funded by the Foundation make meaningful, positive changes to local communities, building better futures for all.

Pictured: Since its inception in 1999, the IMB Bank Community Foundation has supported more than 700 community projects with grants totalling more than $10million. Here the kids of the Illawarra Flame Tree music composition project say thanks for their grant in 2019.

1999

THE FUTURE IS DIGITAL

IMB’s first online banking portal goes live, letting people move funds and check statements from their home computers.

Pictured: IMB’s website as it was in March 2000. Oh, how times have changed in two decades.

2000

CUTTING EDGE CALL CENTRE

IMB’s call centre is completely renovated using state-of-the-art technology and is renamed IMB Direct. The Wollongong-based call centre makes banking hours more accessible for members, from 8am til 8pm, and provides career paths to people of the Illawarra and Southern Sydney.

Pictured: Jodi Crewdson is the current manager of IMB Direct. She began her IMB journey at the newly revamped centre in 2005, one of the first generation of IMB’s traineeship program.

2004

AWARDED ANNIVERSARY

IMB celebrated 125 years of providing dedicated home lending and community-oriented banking and financial services to the Illawarra region and beyond. It seems only fitting that in its 125th year, IMB was awarded Building Society of the Year, one of the major awards in the Money Magazine Consumer Finance Awards.

2005

BANKING AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

The holy grail for mobile phone technology in the 21st century was “convergence”: a handheld device that could do everything. For IMB’s customers, the Mobile App launched in 2014 made that a reality for their online mobile banking, providing a simpler, more convenient and more secure way to bank, 24-seven. In-App messaging followed in 2018, along Osko Real-time payments and Mobile Wallets using Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Garmin Pay and Fitbit Pay.

Pictured: Banking with your mobile phone has never been easier.

2014

FROM BUILDING SOCIETY TO BANK

Following satisfaction from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, IMB becomes a Mutual Bank from 1 August. Community and personal service remain at the centre of IMB’s customer experience.

Pictured: We’re now a bank! IMB Branch Manager Rebecca Round and IMB Chief Executive Robert Ryan enjoy the new signage at the University of Wollongong branch in 2015.

2015

GROWING INTO THE SHIRE

As a result of the merger between the Sutherland Credit Union and IMB Bank, IMB becomes an essential part of the Sutherland Shire. The IMB Bank Shire Community Foundation is also established, providing hundreds of thousands in community funding dedicated to the to support incredible community projects in the Shire.

Pictured: The IMB team at the IMB Bank Cook Community Classic, a community sport and fun day on Cronulla Beach.

2016

AWARD-WINNING BANKING

IMB is awarded Mutual Bank of the Year by the RFi Group Australian Retail Banking Awards. At the same time, Discovery Research finds that IMB has a 95% customer approval rating. And IMB continues to implement technological innovation, introducing Osko^®️ real-time payments.

2018

20 YEARS OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT

IMB Bank Community Foundation exceeds $10million donated to charity and community groups in the areas where IMB Bank operates in the Illawarra, Southern Highlands, South Coast, Sydney, Victoria, and the ACT. It also celebrates 20 years of helping communities thrive.

IMB also opened our branch in Rouse Hill, a growth area in Greater Western Sydney, taking our branch numbers to 48. Meanwhile, IMB’s assets exceeded $6billion for the first time in history.

Pictured: The announcement of IMB Bank Community Foundation funding recipients and Community Heroes at the Wollongong Art Gallery in June.

2019

140 YEARS WITH YOU

With recent expansion in Greater Western Sydney, and a merger with the Hunter United Employees Credit Union in May 2020, IMB continues on its trajectory of stable growth. Empowering our customers to reach their financial goals and supporting our communities remains at the heart of our mission. IMB is right by you: then, now and into the future.

Pictured: The team at IMB Bank Rouse Hill, opened in 2019. Next stop, the Newcastle-Hunter region.

2020

140 years on, supporting our customers and community is more important than ever.