Corporate Governance
Ownership
Southland Building Society (trading as SBS Bank) is a mutual building society and is owned by its members by virtue of their membership interests in Southland Building Society. Membership entitlements and voting rights are set out in the Rules of Southland Building Society. Our rules are available to members on request and free of charge.
Corporate Governance
The board has overall responsibility for the governance of SBS Bank. The board are the elected representatives of the members of SBS Bank and have established the charter, which contains the guiding principles for carrying out their duties.
The board has responsibility for reviewing all aspects of risk management and receives comprehensive monthly reporting covering credit risk, interest rate risk and liquidity risk. In addition SBS Bank has specific policies in relation to liquidity and capital management which contain trigger points at which board involvement is required.
SBS Bank directors make up a majority of the directors on all SBS Bank subsidiary boards and are also involved in a number of board subcommittees. These appointments are outlined on our Meet the Directors page.
In addition, the lending committee is made up of the full board and is responsible for reviewing and approving all lending proposals in excess of $1 million.
Further detail on our risk management policies, procedures and practices are included within the notes to the financial statements. A copy of these can be viewed under Reports and Documentation on our website.
Risk Management Policies
Please refer to our General Disclosure Statement to view our Risk Management Policies.
Board Committees
Audit & Risk: The SBS Bank Audit and Risk Committee comprises of four SBS Bank directors under the chair of Kathryn Ball. The committee meets at least five times a year to monitor the integrity of the group’s financial statements and regulatory reports. It is also responsible for the appointment of the external auditors, KPMG, and our internal auditors, Deloitte, as well as approving and monitoring SBS Bank’s audit process. The committee is also tasked with reviewing controls and monitoring exposure to enterprise, market and operational risk.
Remuneration: Three directors make up SBS Bank’s Remuneration Committee, which is chaired by John Ward. Meeting three to four times annually, the committee reviews the remuneration of the chairman and directors, which is undertaken in conjunction with an independent external report. The committee also assesses the chief executive’s performance and sets his remuneration package, as well as those of SBS Bank senior executives.
Subsidiaries: Our three main trading subsidiaries – Finance Now Limited (FNL), Funds Administration New Zealand (FANZ) and Southsure Assurance Limited – are each governed by active, independent boards. John Ward chairs FNL, Jeff Walker chairs FANZ and Garry Diack chairs Southsure’s board.
Fraser Properties Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary that owns the SBS Bank head office building and undertakes limited trading. This subsidiary is governed by SBS Bank’s board.