Mr Barber was formerly Chief Operating Officer for Australian Unity Wealth after joining the company from Ernst and Young in 2012.

Mr Bryant said having an executive of Tim’s calibre in this role is in line with Australian Unity’s strategy to expand its banking offer to members and customers.

“Banking is an area that we continue to invest in and expand and part of this involves acquiring smaller lenders while providing an alternative service to the major banks.

“Tim’s customer focus and commercial acumen are critical for the banking platform as we continue to expand into new channels and increase the services and benefits we provide our members and customers.”

Mr Barber has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. His qualifications include a Bachelor of Commerce - Accounting and Finance, from the University of Tasmania, Chartered Accountant and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Mr Barber said “I am very excited about driving benefits for Australian Unity’s members and customers through the provision of high quality banking products and services.
“Australian Unity is a company with a diverse and unique mix of services, products and skills and banking is a logical complement to bring these services together for our members and customers.

“While we can’t compete with the big banks on scale, our size and the nature of our organisation allows us to be nimble and responsive to specific customer needs, he said.

Big Sky Building Society started as the co-operative credit union of BHP and merged with Australian Unity in 2012. It has 30,000 customers, and total assets of $900 million.

Ends

Enquiries:

Nathan Clark
6 O’clock Advisory
P 0400 442 414 E
n.clarke@sixoclock.com.au

About Australian Unity

Australian Unity is a national health, wealth and living mutual company providing services to almost one million Australians, including 300,000 members. Australian Unity’s history as a trusted mutual organisation dates back to 1840. It has grown organically—by continually evolving to provide the services and products needed by the communities it serves—as well as through successful strategic mergers and diversification in to new business activities.