Environmental Social Governance

Artwork by Merindah-Gunya

Environmental

What we are doing

Participated in a voluntary climate risk self-assessment survey conducted by governing body Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA).

Reduced our operational footprint at our head office building across 3 levels to 2 levels and refurbished ‘end of trip’ facilities to encourage active modes of transport to and from work for our people.

Installed energy efficient lighting, retained landfill, green and recycled rubbish stations and removed all plastics from tea rooms.

Moved from a ‘buy and depreciate’ finance model to a leasing model for Bank First vehicles and prioritised electric.

Looking at how we incorporate potential climate impacts and risks at strategic and operational levels.

Planning for a Climate Risk Policy setting out the principles for how Bank First identifies and manages climate risk internally and metrics for reporting on the management of climate risk and roles and responsibilities across the Bank.

Social

What we are doing

Our commitment to partners, specifically those in the education, nursing and allied health sectors, comes naturally to our organisation.

Our scholarship program, in partnership with major healthcare providers and tertiary institutions, is innovative and progressive. For many years, we have provided scholarship funding to support university students undertaking the unpaid placement component of their education or nursing degrees.

The Bank First Indigenous Leaders Scholarship for Indigenous leaders is one we are extremely proud of and we know 2024 recipient, Jacob, will go on to do great things in education.

We are one of the first mutual banks in Australia to include a financial abuse clause in our product terms and conditions.

We adhere to Modern Slavery guidelines and have a clear line of sight in our procurement process. Our total value of small business procurement at half year, ended December 2023 was 37.8%*.

Merindah-Gunya

Merindah-Gunya is a proud descendent of Peek and Kirrae Whurrong clans of the Maar nation from southwest Victoria. Twelve months ago, Bank First discovered Merindah-Gunya’s artwork and we use ‘Fearless, Togetherness, Resilience’ alongside our Acknowledgement of Country and as the background for online meetings.

We are proud to play our very small part in supporting Indigenous artists like Merindah-Gunya to continue the story of an ancient tradition and progress reconciliation

Governance

What we are doing

We are subjected to the same strict governance requirements as the big banks – and we’re more than ok with that.

We meet the APRA Standard 510 Governance requirements including renewal, succession planning and utilising a skills matrix to ensure a robust and effective board. We don’t pay bonuses/incentives of any kind to our employees, including the CEO.

Risk mitigation and oversight is delivered through mandatory training in areas such as cyber security and data privacy and we are committed to strong relationships with our third line internal and external auditors, including direct escalation lines to the Chair and CEO.

Every Bank First representative, including the board of directors, has undertaken Workplace Conduct training and a Whistleblower reporting mechanism is embedded in our business.

^{* Source: Australian Government Payment Times Reports Register}