If you’d never heard of MyState Bank (ASX: MYS) before you saw their logo on the Tasmania JackJumpers jersey, you’re not alone. But you could soon be one of the many mainlanders turning to the Tassie-based bank which is writing an increasing number of home loans north of the Apple Isle. 

For the bank which originated and remains headquartered in Tasmania, only 35.5% of home loans settled in FY22 were Tasmanian homes. That’s because more mainlanders are turning to the smaller bank whose home loan book comprises 20.4% in New South Wales, 19.6% in Victoria and 20.5% in Queensland. 

Combined, the digital migration of MyState Bank onto the mainland contributed to their FY22 home loan book of $6.8 billion, a 25% increase on the previous year. 

“This shows our strategy to accelerate growth in a competitive banking landscape is working, with significant above system home loan book and customer deposit growth, all supported by a strong Net Promotor Score,” said MyState Managing Director and CEO, Brett Morgan.

Driving this growth is new customers turning to MyState Bank which has undergone a major digital transformation in recent years which has enabled the bank to deliver better service with lower fees. It’s just one reason they saw 14.8% new customer growth, primarily utilising their transaction accounts, savings accounts, home loans and investment loans.

Across all of their services, MyState reported $140.2 million in total operating income for FY22 which was a 1.2% increase on last year. This delivered net profit after tax of $32m which was 11.9% down on last year’s $36.2m. The decline was attributed to higher operating expenses linked to labour, as well as investment in their technology as part of their 2025 growth strategy. 

“We remain committed to our 2025 growth strategy, which is focused on growing our share in deposits, lending and funds under management,” added Morgan. 

“MyState remains focused on increasing scale and benefitting from operating leverage, whilst optimising our digital and AI capabilities, which enables our team to deliver simpler products and experiences for our customers.”

While lending is the primary source of income for MyState, the bank is also seeing an increase in customer deposits under their savings accounts and Term Deposit programs. This saw customer deposits increasing 25.1% to $5.5 billion, representing 73.1% of MyState’s funding mix. 

Plastered on the bank’s home page is the 3.35% Term Deposit rates offered to customers that shift their savings to MyState which will pay interest on maturity at the end of a 24-month term. 

“MyState’s investment in marketing, customer growth, digital capabilities and simple processes – underpinned by our strong balance sheet – puts us in a solid position to increase market share in a competitive banking landscape,” said Morgan. 

Despite rising interest rates putting pressure on Aussie households, MyState’s 30-day home loan book arrears actually fell 0.14% to 0.41% as of 30 June 2022, considerably lower than industry benchmarks. 

Oh, and for those who queried who the heck the Tassie JackJumpers are – they were runner up in the 2021/22 NBL season, their debut season, and sponsored by MyState.