Alex Bank was established in 2018 by two ex-Suncorp executives, Simon Beitz and Craig Fenwick.[4][1] At its founding, Beitz was named Chief executive officer[5] and Fenwick Chief financial officer.[1] The bank initially targeted 18-to-30 year-olds in the autumn of 2020, with the idea that they are more comfortable with the idea of a fully-digital bank.[4]
The company launched its banking services late in 2020 after a trial period in 2019.[7] In July 2021, Alex Bank was granted a restricted authorised deposit-taking institution licence by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.[5][3] The licence permitted the company to take deposits of up to $250,000 AUD from public borrowers,[8] but placed limitations on the range of products and services it could offer.[5] Alex Bank was one of only two Australian financial institutions to be granted a restricted authorised deposit-taking institution licence at the time.[8]
The bank had raised approximately $55 million AUD in capital as of September 2021,[3] chiefly from private (mostly Australian) investors.[9]
In December 2022 the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority announced that it had granted Alex Bank its authorised deposit-taking licence.[6]
In July 2023 Alex Bank CEO Simon Beitz stated that long term Alex Bank would find its way onto the Australian Securities Exchange[10]
Products
The bank provides short term personal loans to individual borrowers.[5][11] The company differentiated itself from other banks by waiving establishment fees, ongoing fees, payout penalties or extra-repayment fees on its loans.[11]
