Western Australia’s last homegrown bricks-and-mortar lender, P&N Bank, has entered a period of reflection after its second major merger attempt in 18 months collapsed.
The bank announced that a proposed $30 billion tie-up with Queensland-based Great Southern Bank was called off by mutual agreement.
The board concluded that the amalgamation, which would have created Australia’s first coast-to-coast customer-owned bank, was ultimately "not in the best interests" of its customers.
The collapse marks a recurring challenge for P&N in its quest for national scale.
In September 2024, the bank walked away from a merger with Adelaide’s Beyond Bank following concerns regarding executive tenure.
While the Great Southern deal promised a combined force of 620,000 customers and 50 branches across dual head offices in Perth and Brisbane, P&N CEO Andrew Hadley cited a lack of alignment on the future direction of the merged entity rather than a single deal-breaker.
Despite the setback, P&N remains financially robust, reporting a jump in net earnings to $28.2 million for the 2025 financial year, with lending volumes rising 7% to $7.9 billion.
As the country’s seventh-largest mutual, P&N has long argued that consolidation is necessary to compete with Australia’s "Big Four" lenders.
However, for now, Hadley signaled a strategy of "pause and reflect," noting that while further sector consolidation is inevitable, the bank will wait for the right partner to build a truly national business.