Towerhas created Tower CU Alliance (TOCUA), a new business to channel its wealth creation products into the more than three million strong member base of Australian credit unions accessible to Credit Union Services Corporation Australia Ltd (CUSCAL).
The new business will be headed by Alexandra Ballard, formerly senior vice president for marketing strategy forZurichScudder Investments Australia.
Tower says TOCUA was set up to facilitate the growth of relationships between Tower entities includingBridges Financial Serviceswhich Tower acquired from CUSCAL in September 2000. Tower’s alliance with CUSCAL has largely been enhanced by Bridges, but the launch of the new company is designed to channel products more directly to credit union members.
“The development of non-banking products distributed through credit unions to their 3.6 million members has substantial potential for future growth,” Tower chief executive Ken Boag says.
“While good progress has been made in the high advice segment of the market, further development is required in the service and products offered to the majority of members who require less complex advice.”
He says the new company will also be a boon for smaller credit unions which don’t have the critical mass to develop their own financial services and “are therefore unable to provide over-the-counter products requiring less detailed advice”.
“Under Alexandra’s leadership, TOCUA will work alongside Bridges to assist Credit Unions to make available to their members a wide range of packaged wealth creation and risk management solutions,” Boag says.
Prior to working with Zurich, Ballard worked in marketing roles atBTfor six years.
