Office address: Level 3, 277 Broadway, Auckland, Newmarket 1023
Website: www.heartland.co.nz
Year established: 1875
Company type: banking
Employees: 201-500
Expertise: savings and deposits, reverse mortgages, business loans, home loans, car loans, rural loans
Parent company: Heartland Group Holdings
CEO and key people: Leanne Lazarus, CEO
Financing status: -
Heartland Bank is New Zealand’s leading provider of reverse mortgages. It is 100% New Zealand operated and managed and is part of Heartland Group Holdings. The Group is listed on both the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges. Its Australian operations, particularly through Heartland Finance, focus primarily on reverse mortgages, positioning the company as a leader in this niche market.
Heartland Bank is part of the Heartland Group, a financial services company founded in Ashburton as a small building society. Over the years, the company evolved and merged with other financial entities to become Heartland Building Society in 2011.
In 2012, Heartland Building Society was granted bank registration by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. This milestone marked Heartland's rise as the only New Zealand operated, controlled, and managed banking group. In 2013, the Hartland Building Society became Hartland Bank Limited.
Heartland Bank offers a comprehensive suite of financial products and services, designed to meet the diverse needs of its customers. Among its offerings include:
Heartland Bank fosters a culture of inclusivity and diversity, celebrating the unique backgrounds and perspectives of its team members. In fact, the bank was recognised as a diversity and inclusion champion of the year for 2023. This accolade underscores Heartland's commitment to creating a supportive and rewarding work environment, where innovation and excellence are nurtured.
Leanne Lazarus was appointed CEO of Heartland Bank in August 2022. Before that, she was CEO and Executive Director of Westpac Life NZ Ltd, the insurance arm of Westpac NZ.
Lazarus has 30 years' experience in banking and financial services, having held senior executive roles in financial institutions in Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Her career includes significant tenures at ANZ, where she spent 17 years, leading multi-disciplinary teams of up to 6,000 people worldwide.
Aside from earning an MBA from the Australian Institute of Business, Lazarus also holds a Lean Six Sigma (Black Belt) accreditation. She also completed programs under Duke University, the MIT Sloan School of Management, and the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, among others.
One of Heartland Bank’s goals for the future – and consistent with its digitalisation strategy – is “providing customers with frictionless service at the lowest cost.” This involves offering an excellent yet cost-efficient customer service experience through Heartland Bank’s digital platforms. The bank’s measure of success is a lower CTI ratio, and the goal is to bring this down to less than 35% by FY 2028.
As the bank looks to the future, its focus on customer-centric solutions, digitalisation, and strategic leadership will continue to drive its success and growth.
If deal finalised, Heartland will be first NZ bank to buy an Australian bank
Strong half-year results driven by ageing population, cost of living
Group reports 2.4% profit rise
Parties ink $36m deal
Reverse mortgages growing in popularity, says firm
Reverse mortgage pipeline up 50%
New ownership boosts livestock finance offering
One will support strategic growth ambitions in Australia
