
$480 - $4.7bn Australia's OG Peer to Peer Lender: Michelle Bagnall - Bank First
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Michelle Bagnall is the CEO of BankFirst, a mutual bank with 92,000 members and $4.7 billion in assets that exists to serve nurses and teachers in Australia. In this episode she tells Dexter the origin story of a bank that started with $480 in a shoebox, explains why nobody at BankFirst gets paid a bonus, and makes the case that mutuals were the original fintech startups.
00:00 Introduction
03:08 The Origins of Bank First and Peer-to-Peer Lending
05:30 Understanding Mutual Banks and Their Model
10:54 Competing with Big Banks and Neo Banks
14:24 Leadership and Culture at Bank First
21:15 Finding Passion and Purpose in Banking
31:04 Bank First's Role in Supporting Members During Economic Challenges
36:00 The Complexity of Financial Solutions and Collaboration
40:47 Opportunities at Bank First
Links
Michelle Bagnall LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-bagnall/
BankFirst: https://www.bankfirst.com.au
Tier One People: https://www.tieronepeople.com
Dexter Cousins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dextercousins/
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Information
- Show
- FrequencyUpdated Fortnightly
- Published31 May 2026 at 8:00 pm UTC
- Length45 min
- Episode367
- RatingClean