Directors' Column

One of the reasons I joined the board of Bank First some 7 years ago was because it was an organisation that truly helped others.

When we started out as VTU Credit Union in 1972, our first loan was to a single mother, providing a home for herself and two children. Decades later, we are proud to be driven by these same values, as we continue to support our Members to achieve their dreams of home ownership.

Home ownership is increasingly difficult to achieve and is becoming inaccessible to many young people. I see this as my eldest child is disappointed each week as she attends auctions in the hopes of buying her first home.

We are proud to be one of 27 participating lenders of the Australian Government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, which offers help to first home owners as the government provides to banks a guarantee where a borrower does not have a 20% deposit.

Recently this government scheme expanded to include the New Homes Guarantee, and the newly announced Family Home Guarantee.

The Family Home Guarantee is particularly exciting as it aims to support single-parent families, most of whom are women, to get into their homes sooner. Eligible single parents will be able to build a new home or purchase an existing home with a deposit as little as 2% without the need to pay lenders mortgage insurance, regardless of having owned a property previously.

We are proud to be able to offer this program to our Members as not only does this help our Members achieve their dream of home ownership sooner, it also aligns to our beliefs and connects back to why we exist as a customer-owned bank. We believe in helping those who care for others and their community.