Mutual banking peak body taps former Australian Investment Council as outgoing boss retires after nine years
The Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) has appointed Yasser El-Ansary (pictured, above) as its next chief executive, filling the top job at the peak body for Australia's mutual banks and credit unions as long-serving boss Michael Lawrence prepares to retire later this month.
El-Ansary will formally start on 2 November, following a search led by the COBA board with support from executive search firm Omera Partners.
It closes a succession process that began when Lawrence first announced his planned retirement from COBA in March.
Who is Yasser El-Ansary?
El-Ansary has more than 30 years of strategy and leadership experience, including a decade as an executive in financial services.
He is the former chief executive and managing director of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) and of the Australian Investment Council, the national peak body for private capital, which counts profit-for-member superannuation funds among its members.
"With extensive experience leading member organisations and a deep understanding of the financial services sector, Yasser is well placed to advocate for a purpose-led banking model," COBA chair Elizabeth Crouch said.
He brings “a strong commitment to enhancing the profile and regulatory framework for customer-owned banks, a sector serving over 5.4 million Australians”, Crouch added.
El-Ansary signalled that regulation would sit at the top of his agenda.
"I am honoured to take on the leadership of COBA and advocate for a sector that consistently puts customers and communities first,” El-Ansary said. “A key priority will be enhancing the regulatory environment and ensuring customer-owned banks are empowered to thrive as a competitive alternative in the market. I look forward to working closely with members and the COBA team to advance our strategy and seize new opportunities for the sector.”
Lawrence's nine years leading COBA
Lawrence (pictured, below) took the helm in December 2017, steering the sector through the banking Royal Commission, a wave of regulatory reform and the COVID-19 pandemic. Before COBA, he led AMP Bank as managing director from 2007 to 2015.
Regulatory proportionality became a defining theme of his tenure. In an October 2025 submission to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on regulatory simplification, he wrote: "A one-size-fits-all approach to regulation fails to recognise the inherently different risk profile of our sector. A pivotal shift is necessary – one that aligns regulation with the actual risks posed by different banking institutions and that has simplification at its core."
Under Lawrence, COBA also lobbied for greater coordination among Australia's financial regulators to ease the compliance burden on small and medium-sized banks.
Lawrence also chaired the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) from 2024. Using his opening address at the World Credit Union Conference in Sydney in July 2026, he told delegates: "This October, I'll be hanging up my boots as the CEO of COBA and Chair of the World Council to spend more time with the family and to explore other interests beyond executive work."
Reflecting on the handover to El-Ansary, Lawrence said: "Serving as CEO of COBA for the past nine years has been a privilege. Our sector has shown incredible resilience in expanding the reach of customer-owned banking, and I am deeply proud of what we have achieved. As I step down, I am confident that Yasser has the vision to help our sector thrive in its next chapter."
