traded as asx cba industry banking financial services founded 22 december 1911 ; 104 years ago 1911 12 22 as a government bank 1991 ; 25 years ago 1991 as a public company headquarters sydney australia number of locations 1 100 branches 4 300 atms 1 area served worldwide key people david j turner chairman ian narev ceo and managing director products list finance and insurance consumer banking corporate banking investment banking investment management global wealth management private equity mortgages credit cards revenue a 24.578 billion 2016 2 operating income a 12.854 billion 2016 2 profit a 9.227 billion 2016 2 total assets a 933.078 billion 2016 2 total equity a 60.756 billion 2016 2 number of employees 45 129 2016 2 divisions list retail banking services business and private banking institutional banking and markets wealth management international financial services . 2 subsidiaries list bankwest asb bank colonial first state sovereign limited commonwealth securities comminsure website www.commbank.com.au the commonwealth bank of australia is an australian multinational bank with businesses across new zealand fiji asia usa and the united kingdom . commonly referred to as the commonwealth bank or cba or commbank 3 it provides a variety of financial services including retail business and institutional banking funds management superannuation insurance investment and broking services . the commonwealth bank is the largest australian listed company on the australian securities exchange as of august 2015 with brands including bankwest colonial first state investments limited asb bank new zealand commonwealth securities limited commsec and commonwealth insurance limited comminsure . 4 commonwealth bank is also the largest bank in the southern hemisphere . 5 founded in 1911 by the australian government the commonwealth bank is one of the big four australian banks with national australia bank nab anz and westpac . the bank listed on the australian stock exchange in 1991 and the government fully privatised it in 1996 . the former global headquarters of commonwealth bank were the commonwealth trading bank building on the corner of pitt street and martin place which was refurbished from 2012 for retail and commercial uses and from 1984 to 2012 the state savings bank building on martin place which was sold in 2012 to macquarie bank . the headquarters were moved to two new nine storey buildings which were built at the site of the former sega world sydney in darling harbour on the western side of sydney s city centre . contents 1 history 1.1 foundation and early history 1911 1941 1.2 central bank 1920 1960 1.3 diversification 1960 1983 1.4 deregulation 1983 1991 1.5 privatisation and the colonial merger 1990 2000 1.6 the bank today 2001 present 2 controversies 2.1 environmental 2.2 financial planning scandal 2.3 other 3 forthcoming royal commission and class action concerning the bankwest commercial loan book 4 bank structure 4.1 retail banking services 4.2 premium business services 4.3 wealth management 5 international operations 6 products and services 7 subsidiaries 8 see also 9 references 10 external links history edit foundation and early history 1911 1941 edit see also reserve bank of australia the state savings bank building in martin place sydney built in 1928 and used until 2012 by the commonwealth bank of australia the commonwealth bank of australia was founded by the commonwealth bank act on 22 december 1911 introduced by the andrew fisher labor government which favoured bank nationalisation . in a rare move for the time the bank was to have both savings and general bank business . the bank was also the first bank in australia to receive a federal government guarantee . the bank s earliest and most strenuous proponent was the flamboyant american australian labor politician king o malley and its first governor was sir denison miller . the bank opened its first branch in melbourne on 15 july 1912 . 6 in an agreement with australia post that exists to this day the bank also traded through post office agencies . in 1912 it merged with the state savings bank in tasmania and by 1913 it had branches in all six states . in 1916 the bank moved its head office to sydney . it also followed the australian army into new guinea where it opened a branch in rabaul and agencies elsewhere . in 1920 the bank took over from the department of the treasury the responsibility for the issue of australian bank notes the beginning of its acquisition of central bank powers . 7 in 1920 the commonwealth bank merged with the state savings bank in queensland . in 1931 the government transferred to the bank the savings bank business of the government savings bank of new south wales est. 1871 and the current account and fixed deposit business of the rural bank department . the bank also acquired the state savings bank of western australia est. 1863 . central bank 1920 1960 edit the bank s role in central banking expanded gradually after 1920 . in 1931 the bank board came into conflict with the labor government of james scullin . the bank s chairman robert gibson refused to expand credit in response to the great depression as had beened by treasurer edward theodore unless the government cut pensions which scullin refused to do . conflict surrounding this issue led to the fall of the government and to demands from labor for reform of the bank and more direct government control over monetary policy . in 1942 the commonwealth banking corporation cbc suspended its operations in papua new guinea as the imperial japanese army captured many of the towns in which it operated and bombed port moresby . the bank resumed operations later possibly in 1944 . the bank had many branches across papua new guinea including port moresby boroko rabaul lae wau bulolo goroka kavieng madang mount hagen kundiawa popondetta and wewak . on bougainville there was kieta panguna arawa and early on a part time sub branch at loloho . the bank maintained those facilities to support trade local business government and small savers . the commonwealth bank received almost all central bank powers in emergency legislation passed during world war ii and at the end of the war it used this power to begin a dramatic expansion of the economy . this was also the aim of the government at the time which attempted to compel the australian states to conduct their banking with the commonwealth under the banking act 1945 cth but the high court in melbourne corporation v commonwealth 1947 74 clr 31 blocked this move . the government also colossally expanded immigration programmes . to respond to this the bank established a migrant information service later known as the australian financial & migrant information service or afmis . the bank expanded during this period . in just five years it opened hundreds of branches throughout australia and in 1951 it established a branch in the solomon islands . in 1958 and 1959 there was a controversy concerning the dual function of the bank as the central bank on the one hand and a commercial bank on the other . as a result of this the government split the bank giving the central bank function to the reserve bank of australia with the commonwealth banking corporation cbc retaining its commercial banking functions . these commercial functions were exercised by the cbcs constituent banks the commonwealth trading bank of australia ctb the commonwealth savings bank of australia csb and the newly formed commonwealth development bank cdb . from 1958 to 1976 the commonwealth bank operated savings bank agencies in the new hebrides . diversification 1960 1983 edit commonwealth bank of australia savings passbook issued 1977 a new commonwealth development bank was established in 1960 and during the 1970s the bank diversified its business into areas like insurance and travel . it established a finance company cbfc in 1974 . the bank also became more heavily involved in foreign currency trading and international banking in general . the bank actively supported the introduction of decimal currency in the years leading up to 1966 and like most banks it gradually converted its paper records onto a new computer based system . the bank created the first credit card in australia in 1974 when it established bankcard . in later years the bank began offering mastercards 1984 and visa 1993 cards as well . in 1974 as papua new guinea approached independence the bank formally handed over its png operations to the newly created and government owned papua new guinea banking corporation pngbc . the bank retained a restricted branch in port moresby that it finally closed in 1982 . in 1981 the bank transferred its operations in the solomon islands to the national bank of solomon islands which operated as a joint venture 51 49 commonwealth and government of the solomon islands . deregulation 1983 1991 edit 1980s logo in 1989 the bank acquired 75 per cent of asb bank in new zealand . in 1991 the bank acquired the failing victorian government owned state bank of victoria est. 1842 . privatisation and the colonial merger 1990 2000 edit between 1991 and 1996 the australian government fully privatised the commonwealth bank . the first share offer in 1991 was valued at 1 292 million the second in 1993 for 1 700 million and the third was sold for 5 000 million in 1996 . 8 it is a public company but one of the few such companies in australia whose official name does not end in limited . in 1994 commonwealth sold its shares in national bank of solomon islands to bank of hawaii . in 1994 commonwealth took a 50 % share in pt bank international indonesia . on 10 march 2000 the commonwealth bank and colonial limited announced their intention to merge with seven commonwealth bank shares being offered for twenty colonial shares . the merger received final approval from the supreme court of victoria on 31 may 2000 and was completed on 13 june 2000 . this brought into the fold colonial s stake in colonial national bank the former national bank of fiji . the bank also acquired the remaining 25 % of asb bank . banking opportunities in asia saw the bank in 2000 acquire full ownership of pt bank international indonesia and rename it pt bank commonwealth . this bank now has over 16 branches and has opened several fx shops to cater to commonwealth bank clients who are tourists in bali . the bank today 2001 present edit commonwealth bank branch office in 2005 the bank established strategic co operation agreements with two chinese banks jinan city commercial bank and hangzhou city commercial bank ; it took an 11 % stake in jinan city and a 19.9 % stake in hangzhuo . commonwealth also established a representative office in bangalore india . on 27 january 2006 the bank acquired the remaining 49 % stake in colonial national bank fiji at the beginning of 2008 commonwealth bank opened a branch in ho chi minh city saigon . then in october commonwealth announced that it had purchased bankwest and st andrew s insurances from their parent company hbos plc for a 2.1 billion . 9 10 the acquisition is scheduled to be completed in early 2009 subject to regulatory approval . lastly on 24 december commonwealth announced that it had in joint partnership with aussie home loans purchased wizard home loans . 11 as part of the deal the commonwealth bank will acquire wizard mortgages up to the value of a 4 billion . the commonwealth bank currently owns a 80 % stake in aussie . 12 commonwealth bank held about 30 percent of the loan business of financial advisory company storm financial when it collapsed in january 2009 . 13 in december 2009 commonwealth sold colonial national bank to bank of south pacific . the bank transferred their atm service desk from hp enterprise services in adelaide to its armaguard in sydney from march