STATEWEST Credit Society members have voted for demutualisation for the second time, as part of a re-run of its proposed merger with Home Building Society Ltd. About 50 per cent of StateWest’s total membership cast votes, with nearly 90 per cent of the 29,426 votes cast in favour of the demutualisation proposal. The vote is the first of two stages in StateWest’s proposed Home merger, a process which is being repeated after dissident members had the first vote scrapped by the courts due to insufficient information provided to members. The members, led by former executives of StateWest, had objected to the lack of detail provided on management remuneration, namely the salary and benefits package proposed for the society’s CEO Greg Wall, who is to run the merged entity. For demutualisation to be effected, 25 per cent of StateWest members were required to cast votes on the demutualisation resolution and of these 75 per cent needed to vote in favour of demutualisation. Home shareholders have already approved the merger. StateWest chairman Trevor Halliday said the voter turnout was exceptional, especially given the fact it was the second time members had been asked to make a decision on demutualisation. In August 2005, Home and StateWest announced an in-principle agreement to merge the two organisations to create a new Western Australian-based financial institution.
