Expanding the co-operative advantage: Steve Laidlaw joins global dialogue on the future of mutual banking

12 May 2025

Steve Laidlaw, Chief Executive Officer of People First Bank, took to the international stage on 8 May 2025 as a featured panellist at the 2nd Global Cooperative Banking Forum, hosted by the European Association of Co-operative Banks (EACB) and the Building Societies Association (BSA) in Birmingham, UK.

Laidlaw spoke on Panel 1: “Cooperative and Mutual Banking: Perspectives for Expansion”, a headline session of the Forum designed to explore how co-operative and mutual banks are scaling their business models to meet today’s challenges – while staying true to their member-first values. The panel brought together international leaders including Debbie Crosbie, CEO of Nationwide Building Society; David Murano, Deputy Director General of Caja Ingenieros (Spain); and Professor Barbara Casu, Professor of Finance at Bayes Business School, London. The discussion was moderated by Baroness Nicky Morgan, former UK Cabinet Minister and Chair of the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee.

As CEO of Australia’s largest mutual bank – formed from the 2023 merger of People’s Choice Credit Union and Heritage Bank – Laidlaw offered a compelling Australian perspective on cooperative growth and transformation. “The vision behind People First Bank was to unlock the strategic potential that comes with scale,” Laidlaw said. “That means better technology, greater resilience and more capacity to deliver meaningful value to members.”

A key theme of his remarks was how mutual banks can remain genuinely “people-first” in a digital-first world. “Around 1% of our transactions are now face-to-face. Customers want seamless digital experiences – and when they can’t get that, they don’t see it as a strength of the model; they see it as a failure,” he said. Far from seeing digital innovation and member intimacy as mutually exclusive, Laidlaw argued they must be pursued together: “We need to design for hyper-personalisation, trust and choice – in a way that respects how people actually want to interact with their bank today.”

Laidlaw also reflected on the origins of Australia’s mutual banking sector, founded over 150 years ago by communities pooling credit to help each other access housing and essential goods. He stressed that mutuals must continue to demonstrate their social purpose today – especially in areas like housing affordability, climate resilience and financial inclusion. “If we’re not solving these problems, members will ask: how are we any different from listed banks?” he said.

However, Laidlaw was candid about the growing regulatory burden facing mutuals. “Our lower-risk profile was proven during Australia’s 2018 Royal Commission – yet we face the same compliance costs as larger commercial banks. Proportionality and pragmatism in regulation are essential if mutuals are to continue playing a differentiated role.”

The European Association of Co-operative Banks (EACB), which convened the Forum, represents 2,500 cooperative banks, 89 million members and 225 million customers across Europe. The Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) is a proud member of the EACB, advocating for Australian mutuals in the global conversation on sustainable finance, banking inclusion and cooperative identity.

The Forum reinforced a key message: in a world of digital disruption and economic volatility, cooperative and mutual banking is not just relevant – it is essential. As Laidlaw put it, “We were built for moments like these.”