Bank of Western Australia Ltd
The Bank of Western Austrailia, more commonly known as BankWest was set up be the Government of Western Australia in 1895 as the Agricultural Bank of Western Australia as a rural lender to support the State's farming industries. Technically it was not a bank in that it did not collect deposits from the public, its liabilities being government bonds. It was a government instrumentality that lent exclusively to farmers{{ref|1)).
The Bank incorporated in 1990, and then in 1994 changed its name to the Bank of Western Australia Limited, with the trading name BankWest, in preparation for privatisation. In December 1995 Bank of Scotland acquired the operation, and as part of the sale agreement, offered 49 per cent of the shares in BankWest to the public. BankWest shares listed on the Australian Stock Exchange on February 1, 1996.
With the 2001 merger between Halifax Group and the Bank of Scotland to form HBOS plc, HBOS acquired all outstanding shares to make Bank of Western Australia its wholly owned subsidiary{{ref|2)).
Notes
^ Spillman, K. (1989) Horizons: A History of the Rural and Industries Bank of Western Australia. Perth: University of Western Australia Press
