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Key Dates in BNZ's History

16 October 1861 Bank of New Zealand opens for business in Queen Street, Auckland. Population of New Zealand was approximately 155,100
2 December 1861   Dunedin branch opened
15 January 1862 Wellington branch opened
1 March 1862 Christchurch branch opened
May 1862 Acquired the account of the Central Government, which was previously held at the Union Bank
October 1862 London branch opened
December 1862 The bank has 17 branches and agencies and 40 staff
March 1864 First fixed deposits were recorded, totalling £15,000
1871 10 years since the Bank of New Zealand was established, the population of New Zealand was approximately 256,300
1871 The Bank now had 39 branches and agencies and 161 staff. In the South Island there were 31 branches and agencies and 100 staff.
1 July 1872 Opened Melbourne branch
15 April 1875 Opened Sydney branch
June 1876 Opened in Levuka, Fiji. The Bank absorbed the Fiji Banking and Commercial Trading Company Ltd.
1895 Took over the Colonial Bank of New Zealand business
1889 Head Office moves from Auckland to London. New Zealand had been in a depression for much of the 1880s, which affected the entire banking sector. In an attempt to broaden the management expertise and improve confidence, on October 24th the board recommended that head office should move to London
1900 119 branches and agencies, 551 staff
1901 Head Office moved back to New Zealand in a new 3 storey building on the corner of Lambton & Customhouse Quays in Wellington
1915 Due to World War One there was a shortage of male staff which forced the board to permit women to join the staff for the first time. By June 1918 it employed 326 female clerks
1918 560 Bank officers joined the forces, 71 killed
1925 223 branches and agencies, 1427 staff
1926 Bank of New Zealand established New Zealand's first long-term mortgage department. Interest was charged at 6 percent and repayment terms were up to 36.5 years
1930 The Bank had 244 branches and agencies, 1,576 staff, and advances of £29 million
1939 – 1945 During World War 2 the number of women employed by the Bank rose from 74 at the outbreak of the war to more than 700 at the end
1940 Bank of New Zealand lent the New Zealand Government £1 million interest free, for the duration of the war, as a contribution to the common cause.
1943 To meet the needs of American servicemen stationed in Auckland, the Bank opened New Zealand's first mobile banking office - a caravan fitted out with tellers' counters. It also introduced night banking in Auckland and Wellington for servicemen
1944 Following the trend in Canada, the United States, and Australia, Bank of New Zealand opened New Zealand's first personal loans department
13 March 1945 Finance Minister Walter Nash publicly announced that the Government intended to nationalise Bank of New Zealand
1945 921 bank officers join the forces, 54 killed
1950 292 branches, 2140 staff
1952 New Zealand’s population reaches 2 million
1959 Bank begins sponsorship of Katherine Mansfield Award for short stories
1964 A change in legislation allows Trading Banks to operate Savings Accounts which provides the opportunity to increase the number of customers. The beginning of marketing in banking.
1966 The Bank purchased its first computer - an IBM 360/30 with a 16k memory - and used it to set up Databank Systems Ltd. - the inter-bank cheque clearing house
1975 430 branches, 5500 staff
October 1978 Bank of New Zealand introduced Visa to New Zealand as a debit card to current accounts. From 1980 it became a credit card
1984 Bank of New Zealand moved into its new head office, Bank of New Zealand Centre, on Wellington's Willis Street
1985 Bank of New Zealand introduced eftpos to New Zealand through a pilot scheme with petrol stations.
March 1987 The Bank returned to private shareholding, offering 103 million shares of 50c. The offer closed on the same day, oversubscribed
1989 The Government further sold down its 85 percent shareholding to 51 percent, selling 30 percent to Capital Markets Ltd, and the remainder to the general public
1991 Launches sponsorship of Kiwi Recovery now called Save the Kiwi
1992 Bank of New Zealand became part of the National Australia Bank Group, making it part of a global banking group with branches and agencies in 16 countries.
1992 Bank of New Zealand opened its first call centre in Auckland
June 1997 Bank of New Zealand pioneered Direct Banking - a "virtual branch" customers can access by phone and fax. For the first time, Bank of New Zealand achieved well over $1 billion growth in home mortgage lending in one financial year
1998 Managing Director and a number of retail and corporate functions move to Auckland
1999 Bank of New Zealand launched Internet Banking service followed by the launch of on-line securities trading and FX Dealing.
1999 BNZ Private Bank launched
2000 192 branches, 5562 staff
2002 New internal brand  – ‘Leadership, Empowerment and Performance’
2003 Internet Banking for business customers
2003 Population of New Zealand reaches 4 million
2003 Contact Centre wins at the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Contact Centre Awards – Industry Award for Banking Sector
2004, 2005, 2006 Contact Centre wins 2 awards at the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Contact Centre Award – Customer Service in NZ and Industry Award for Banking Sector. Also in 2006 the Contact Centre wins the Outbound Business Consumer Calling
2004 ‘Bank Smarter’ and Unbeatable Home Loans campaign
2005 Sponsorship - principal partner of New Zealand Commonwealth Games team for Melbourne 2006
April 2006 Introduction of Online Statements, Text Alerts and extra security feature Netguard for Internet Banking.
2006 Contact Centre second in 2006 Contact Centre World Awards, Best in Asia Pacific Finalist - Best Customer Service
May 2006 Pig Tales advertising campaign launched
March 2007 Peter Thodey retires as Managing Director and Cameron Clyne named as his successor
31 July 2008 Cameron Clyne announced as successor to John Stewart, Group CEO, NAB Group.
1 October 2008 Bank of New Zealand refreshes brand, changes name to 'BNZ', launches BNZ Partners and BNZ Capital. Andrew Thorburn becomes Chief Executive Officer, BNZ.