Thank you. Good morning, everybody. My name is David Hornery, and it's a privilege to stand before you today for the first time as the Chair of Judo Bank and to welcome you to our annual general meeting for the 2025 financial year. I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we're meeting today and to pay my respects to their elders, past, present, and emerging. I'd also like to acknowledge our directors here today: Brad Cooper, Jennifer Douglas, Peter Hodgson, Malcolm McCutcheon, Meta Shepherd, Amanda Trattwine, and of course, Chris Bayliss, our CEO and Managing Director. We're also joined by Yen Hong, our Company Secretary, and our auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, represented by Tony Richardson. I'd also very much like to welcome the Judo Bank Executive Leadership Team members and our employees, who are present in the room and present virtually.
As we begin today's formal proceedings, I'd like to start by taking a moment to acknowledge the contribution and dedication of our inaugural Chair, Peter Hodgson. Peter's leadership over the past eight years, from our earliest days through the build phase of the company, the achievement of our banking license, our ASX listing in 2021, and our progression now to being well inside the top 200 Australian companies, has been a cornerstone of Judo's success. I'm absolutely delighted that Peter has agreed to offer himself for re-election and continues to serve on the Board, which would see his role as Senior Independent Director and our Chair of Risk Committee continue. On behalf of the Board, the Judo team, and our shareholders, thank you, Peter, for your stewardship as Chair over the past eight years and your continued dedication to Judo.
This past financial year, we've seen Judo continue to execute across the key dimensions of the business. On the quantitative side, and as you will have seen in our result announcements, our financial performance was strong, and Chris will speak about that shortly. On the qualitative side, Chris has built and consolidated a first-class leadership team at the top of the company. We've continued our attraction, retention, and development of industry-leading talent, and our customer satisfaction remains industry-leading. These have been complemented by a significant growth in our points of presence across the country and a successful re-platforming of the bank's core technology.
A point that I do think it's important to underscore here is that in an organization like ours that is growing and scaling and delivering strongly, over and above the strength of the result last financial year, it is the combination of both these quantitative and qualitative factors that mean we've really laid the foundation for strong, sustainable growth into the years ahead. Another way to think about that, from when we began building Judo almost ten years ago to today, the value of the business has been materially based on the emergence in our financials of real operating leverage as we grow and as we scale. The benefits of the hard work and the disciplined execution of the past decade are that that operating leverage is now very clearly emerging, underpinning our confidence in achieving our full at-scale economics.
As Chris will talk about, and as I think he and the team so clearly laid out this year on our investor day back in June, which I would, by the way, encourage you all to have a look at. You can see it on our website, or three and a half hours of it. It is very much worth watching. The growing emergence of this operating leverage puts us at the beginning of a truly exciting next chapter for Judo. There have been many highlights this year, but one of the most rewarding areas of progress for both myself and the Board has been our growing presence in regional and rural communities across Australia.
Our expanding footprint now sees 165 bankers across 31 locations around the country, which, put simply, means that there are more expert Judo bankers that are local to our customers, always available, that are empowered to structure deals and make decisions on the ground. The power of that growth and the uniqueness of that proposition consistently comes through when I spend time with customers around the country. Their feedback consistently revolves around understanding them, understanding their industry, responding quickly when it matters, crafting commonsense solutions, and ultimately building trust over time. These are the offerings that the full Judo operating system was built to deliver, and they remain the absolute focus of our bankers and our leadership team.
What comes through clearly to me in those conversations with customers is that while the competitive landscape is changing, that within Australia's SME sector, the importance and the value of a true relationship banking proposition has never been higher. This year, we've also made significant strides in becoming a faster, smarter, and stronger bank. As I mentioned earlier, over the past three years, we've successfully re-platformed Judo's core technology structure, something few banks globally have achieved with such seamless execution. This transformation enhances our scalability, sharpens our competitive edge, and boosts our ability to innovate quickly and securely. It's a foundational shift that will serve us well for years to come, and I thank the whole Judo team for their outstanding efforts in delivering that.
On culture, intentionally crafting the culture we want at Judo has been a key focus from day one and remains a key differentiator for the bank. For the third year running, Judo was named an AFR Boss Best Place to Work and became Great Place to Work Australia Certified, which is an absolute credit to Judo's leadership. The Board spends time and thinks deeply about our people and culture, recruiting and developing the industry's best bankers, and making Judo a great place to work. Entrepreneurial spirit and an ownership mindset are embedded in our DNA. They shape our employment brand, drive our results, and define our position in the industry. We operate in a dynamic and complex environment, and we remain committed to responsible growth, which we do by balancing performance with purpose.
Our governance frameworks are strong, strategies clear, and our Board and leadership team are deeply experienced in understanding and managing the risks associated with banking. ESG and diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just priorities for Judo; they are part of the core of who we are, what our bank stands for. The Board spends regular time focusing on these issues, as does the executive leadership team. One of the ways this takes effect is through the team members engaging in a variety of community and customer activities across the country in ways and for causes that matter to them. Turning to our Board, as announced prior to this meeting, Meta Shepherd will be retiring as a Director, with effect from the conclusion of today's AGM. Meta has been an Independent Non-Executive Director of Judo since April 2019.
She's been a key member of both the Board Risk Committee and the Board Audit Committee, having also served on the Board Remuneration Committee. Meta's 30 years of international experience in banking and executive leadership have made a significant impact over the past six and a half years as we've continued to scale Judo. On behalf of myself, the whole Judo team, and our shareholders, I'd like to extend our sincere thanks to Meta for her dedication and for her outstanding contribution. I'd also like to acknowledge the appointment of Brad Cooper to our Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director in December 2024. Brad's depth of experience, insight, and maturity of perspective have already made a meaningful impact around the Board table.
In closing, I want to thank our customers, thank our investors for your continued support, and to extend our deep gratitude to the exceptional team that makes up Judo. As we move into FY26 and the years ahead, we remain focused on continued execution across all the key facets of the bank and delivering strong operating leverage from the foundation that we have built, that is, building a truly world-class business bank. I'd now like to invite our CEO and Managing Director, Chris Bayliss, to provide his insights for the year. Chris.
Thank you, David, and good morning, everyone. Let me add my own welcome to our 2025 AGM. It's a great privilege to provide you with an update today. Our shareholders, it's really unbelievable to think that we've actually only had our banking license for six years, and the progress that we've made in this short period of time has been truly remarkable. When we set out to build Judo, we started with a blank piece of paper and a bold vision: to truly support Australian SMEs, the lifeblood of the economy, by providing them with the credit that they need and the service they deserve. We designed a specialist business model that gives us a unique, enduring competitive advantage, one that our competitors simply cannot replicate.
We have a customer value proposition uniquely designed for SMEs, an employee value proposition that empowers our bankers, and modern systems that are specifically designed and built to service our segment of the market. Now, building a bank from scratch is not for the faint-hearted, which is why it's so satisfying to report that the most challenging phases of building and scaling the bank are now behind us. After six intense years of building, we now have the bank we always dreamed of, and we can embark now on optimizing the profitability of our business. Now, over FY25, we continue to expand our SME lending franchise to 31 locations across Australia. We grew both our team and our physical presence and now serve close to 4,700 lending SME customers.
We're proud to hold the highest lending net promoter score in the sector of plus 53, and this really is proof that our unique customer value proposition of smarter judgment, faster decisions, and stronger relationships deeply resonates with SMEs. We've built a leading employment brand, which is one of our greatest assets. You know, our culture really is built on teamwork, and we empower our bankers to build enduring relationships built on trust. Our credit test continues to be a critical step in our recruitment process, and to this day, over 50% of applicants fail, meaning that we really do only take the best of the best. Over the past three years, we've completely re-platformed our core systems and re-engineered our data environment onto cloud-based, scalable platforms, and this gives us the foundation now to optimize, innovate, and to grow.
Now, turning to FY25 performance, the consistent execution of our clear and simple strategy by a first-class team once again delivered strong performance for the year. Our lending book grew 16% to $12.5 billion, nearly double the system growth. Underlying profit before tax rose 14% to $125.6 million, driven by disciplined cost management and improved net interest margins. Our award-winning deposit franchise grew to nearly $10 billion, with a $1.4 billion increase in direct retail balances. While the economic environment presented some challenges, our relationship-led model enabled us to work closely with customers facing financial stress, and, pleasingly, arrears remained broadly stable. We also held high levels of capital, with a CET1 capital ratio of 13.1% at the end of June. We remain well-capitalized and well-positioned for continued above-system lending growth.
Now, turning to the first quarter of this financial year, FY26, we've continued to execute our strategy with discipline and focus. Lending momentum has remained strong, and we grew GLAs by $463 million over the first quarter to just over $12.9 billion as at the end of September, and this equates to 16% of annualized growth. Our AAA pipeline remains very healthy at over $1.9 billion. Our first-quarter frontbook lending margins were also strong at 4.4%, and our blended lending margin was stable at 4.3%, in line with expectations. We're also progressing with our warehouse lending business, which is a segment that is highly accretive to ROE. In fact, we've originated two new warehouse customers during the quarter, taking us to four customers now with combined limits of $245 million. We're aiming to onboard one new warehouse customer per month over the remainder of this financial year.
On recruitment, Judo remains the preeminent destination for business bankers in this country. We've grown a team of relationship bankers to 165 now, following several new hires and internal promotions during the quarter. Despite the aggressive recruitment programs declared by several other banks, our bank retention rate has remained stable. This really is a powerful testament to our strong employment proposition. Leveraging our strong IT foundations, we're now also investing heavily in process improvements. We have a range of productivity initiatives underway that will free up our bankers and give them more time with customers, including things such as streamlined annual renewals and faster and easier loan variations. In addition to investing in our bankers, we're also deepening our partnership with Australia's leading commercial brokers through our new Broker Black Belt program, which I launched personally in the Blue Mountains last week.
Judo only accredits the best commercial brokers in the market, and while Australia has more than 20,000 brokers, we only work with the very best 1,500 who specialize in SME finance and understand our CVP and our risk appetite. Our new Broker Black Belt program is setting a new standard in the industry and strengthens the strategic alignment and reward between Judo and our top brokers around key priorities such as growth, margin, retention, NPS, and credit performance. So far, we've only accredited our top 15 commercial brokers as Black Belt, with the potential for more to qualify for the program over time. On the funding side of our balance sheet, our deposit franchise continues to excel, and we've grown our deposit balances to $10.5 billion in September. Strategically, our recent migration to the new core deposit platform is already delivering major benefits.
Within just three months, we've introduced several new term deposit products, and we're making excellent progress with our new savings accounts. Our intermediated savings account is well advanced, and we expect to launch later this month, and our direct online savings account is still on track to be launched early in the next calendar year. We've seen an improvement in deposit margins, with the cost of new deposits averaging in the mid-80 basis points over swap in the first quarter, down from 99 basis points in the second half of FY2025. We've also continued to optimize our wholesale funding program, successfully completing a $150 million tier two transaction last month, and this deal was strongly supported by the market, priced 120 basis points tighter than our previous issuance a year ago.
Putting all this together, we remain confident in our FY2026 NIM guidance of 3 to 3.1%, with the first half NIM of circa 3% and the second half of circa 3.1%. We, of course, continue to watch credit quality closely. The 90 days past due on impaired loans has improved to 2.37% at the end of September, compared to 2.43% in June. Overall, we remain on track to achieve our FY26 guidance, which culminates in a profit before tax of $180 to $190 million, reflecting around 50% profit growth versus FY25. In closing, we have a clear and simple strategy to be Australia's most trusted SME business bank, and our conviction in our strategy has never been stronger.
No other bank has the combination of our pure-play SME focus, our culture, and a platform that enables us to deliver a superior customer value proposition to the SME market and, in turn, deliver sector-leading results. Judo's growth has followed a deliberate three-phase strategy: first, build the bank; second, scale the bank; and now, optimize the bank, and then finally, achieve our at-scale metrics. We are well into the first stage of this optimization stage of the bank, and as David said, we are now delivering significant operating leverage and making substantial progress towards our long-term target of ROE in the low to mid-teens. In closing, I want to thank the entire Judo team. Their passion, resilience, and unwavering commitment to our purpose is what makes this bank so special. I have an exceptionally talented management team who are deeply experienced and passionate about our purpose.
To our shareholders and our customers, thank you for your continued trust and support. As we enter this next phase of growth, we do so with confidence and a commitment to redefining SME banking in Australia. I'm very proud of the important place Judo now holds in the Australian financial landscape. Thank you, and I'll hand back to David.
Thank you very much, Chris. We will now move to the items of business for the meeting. The notice of meeting was dispatched to all shareholders on the 19th of September this year, and I propose to take that as read. When you registered your attendance today, you would have been issued with either a yellow, blue, or red attendance card. Shareholders with a yellow or blue card are welcome to ask questions. Visitors who were issued a red card are welcome at today's meeting but are reminded they're not entitled to ask questions. If you think you've been issued with the incorrect card, please see the MUFG corporate market staff at the registration desk at the front.
Shareholders with a yellow or blue card who wish to ask questions at today's meeting will need to show the Judo staff their card first and make their way over to the standing microphone, where they'll be asked for their name. There will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end of each item of business and again at the conclusion of all the voting items. Please note there is a limit of two questions per shareholder. This meeting has been convened to consider the FY25 financial reports and the six resolutions as set out in the notice of meeting and explanatory materials. As explained in the notice of meeting and explanatory materials, there is a voting exclusion in relation to the vote on the remuneration report and the grant of deferred share rights and performance rights to the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Chris Bayliss.
The resolutions put to the vote at the AGM will be decided by poll. Voting during the meeting is being conducted by our share registry, MUFG corporate markets. The results of the poll for votes cast today will be calculated by our share registry and released to the ASX shortly after the meeting. For all those shareholders who are in attendance, who have already provided a proxy and do not wish to change their votes, there is no need to vote again. Moving to the first item, item one of the notice of meeting, is to receive and consider the reports of the directors and of the auditors, the income statement, the balance sheet, and cash flow statement for the year ended 30 June 2025. There is no requirement for shareholders to approve these reports, but are there any questions or comments on this item from shareholders?
There are no questions? Okay. Thanks. Moving on, this is item 2A. The next item of business concerns the re-election of Peter Hodgson as a Director of Judo. I'd like to invite Peter to say a few words.
Thank you, David, and good morning. Thank you, David, in particular, for your kind remarks, which caused my face to go very red in embarrassment. I appreciate the opportunity to address shareholders as I stand here for re-election. Serving at first as Chair and then since March as Senior Independent Director has been a great privilege and a responsibility that I take and hold dearly. Over my time at Judo, I have seen our growth to today's vibrant and significant competitor in the business banking sector. As a banker of over 35 years' experience, I believe my challenge and guidance and support at the Board level has contributed to that journey. I'm convinced that Judo has a clear strategy and an outstanding future. If today's vote is positive, I would be delighted to continue to serve in ensuring sound governance and accountability in the long-term interests of shareholders. Thank you.
Thank you, Peter. I now move on to the resolution to be voted on by the shareholders, being the re-election of Peter Hodgson. The Board has considered Peter's experience and knowledge and recommends, with Peter abstaining, that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. The votes cast prior to the meeting are now being displayed on the screen. As you can see, according to the votes cast prior to the meeting, 93.01% voted in favor of the re-election of Peter Hodgson. Are there any questions or comments from shareholders on this item?
Chair, there are no questions.
Thanks, Casey. I now ask shareholders to complete their yellow voting card for this resolution. Moving on to item 2B, the re-election of Amanda Trattwine as a Director of Judo. I'd like to invite Amanda also to say a few words.
Thank you, David. It's a privilege to stand before you today to seek your support for re-election to the Board of Judo Bank. Serving on this Board and as Chair of the Audit Committee has been both an honor and a responsibility I take very seriously. I first joined the Board in 2019 when Judo received its banking license. I still remember the excitement around the launch of our term deposit products and the shared sense of achievement as we signed up our first deposit customers. Since then, Judo has achieved significant growth in our loan book and reached profitability in record time. Drawing on my experience as a partner in an accounting firm, serving mid-market founder-led businesses, I have sought to bring practical insights to our Board discussions.
As Chair of the Board Audit Committee, I have worked to ensure the integrity of Judo's financial reporting and the effectiveness of our control environment. This year, for instance, that has included oversight of our strategic technology re-platforming and the successful rotation of our external audit engagement partner. Looking forward, I'm excited about Judo's optimization phase as we demonstrate operating leverage from our investments. I remain committed to bringing independent thinking, thoughtful challenge, and working alongside the Judo team to create value, not just for our shareholders but for the customers whose growth and success define our purpose. I'm grateful for the trust and support you have shown me to date, and I'm humbled to submit myself for re-election. Thank you.
Thank you, Amanda. I now move on to the resolution to be voted on by the shareholders, being the re-election of Amanda Trattwine. The Board has considered Amanda's experience and knowledge and recommends, with Amanda abstaining, that shareholders vote in favor of the resolution. The votes cast prior to the meeting are now being displayed on the screen. According to the votes cast prior to the meeting, 96.88% voted in favor of the re-election of Amanda Trattwine. Are there any questions or comments on Amanda's re-election?
Chair, there are no questions.
Thank you. I now ask shareholders to complete their yellow voting card for this resolution. Moving on to item 2C, the next item of business concerns the election of Brad Cooper as a Director of Judo, and I'd like to invite Brad to say a few words.
Thank you, David, and good morning, everybody. It's my pleasure to have my nomination put before you today being an Executive Director of Judo Bank. I've been attracted to Judo Bank because of the absolute focus on business banking, helping Australians who are willing to back themselves with their ideas with dedicated, experienced, traditional banking support. The success of Judo Bank is enabled due to the experienced management team and Board who have built a very successful business bank through their expertise, discipline, culture, values, and authentic focus on customers that they support. I joined the Board in December last year, and I come to Judo Bank after an extensive 40-year career in financial services. If confirmed by you today, I'll work with my fellow Directors and the management team to realize the growth strategies of Judo Bank, and I thank you for your time and for your support.
Thank you.
Thank you, Brad. I now move on to the resolution to be voted on by shareholders, being the re-election of Brad Cooper. The Board has considered Brad's experience and knowledge and recommends, with Brad abstaining, that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. The votes cast prior to the meeting are now being displayed on the screen. According to the votes cast prior to the meeting, 97.01% voted in favor of the election of Brad Cooper. Are there any questions or comments from shareholders on this item?
Chair, there are no questions.
Okay, thank you. I now ask shareholders to complete their yellow voting card for the resolution. Moving on to item three, the next item of business concerns approval to adopt the remuneration report set out in the directors' report for the year ended 30th of June 2025. The vote on the resolution is advisory only and does not bind the directors or the company. However, any discussion on the resolution and the outcome of the vote will be taken into consideration by the Board REM Committee when considering the future remuneration arrangements of the company. There is a voting exclusion on this resolution. The Board recommends that shareholders vote in favor of the resolution. The votes cast prior to the meeting are now being displayed on the screen. According to the votes cast prior to the meeting, 98.45% voted in favor of the adoption of the remuneration report.
Are there any questions or comments from shareholders in relation to this resolution?
Chair, there are no questions.
Okay, thank you. I now ask shareholders to complete their yellow voting card for this resolution. Moving on to item 4A. The next item of business concerns approval to grant deferred share rights to the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Chris Bayliss. There is a voting exclusion on this resolution. The Board, with Chris abstaining, recommends that shareholders vote in favor of the resolution. The votes cast prior to the meeting are now being displayed on the screen. According to the votes cast prior to the meeting, 96.43% voted in favor of the grant of deferred share rights to Chris Bayliss. Are there any questions or comments from shareholders in relation to this resolution?
Chair, there are no questions.
Thank you. I now ask shareholders to complete their yellow voting card for this resolution. Item 4B. The next item of business concerns approval to grant performance rights to the CEO and Managing Director, Chris Bayliss. There is a voting exclusion on this resolution. The Board, with Chris abstaining, recommends that shareholders vote in favor of this resolution. The votes cast prior to the meeting are now being displayed on the screen. According to the votes cast prior to the meeting, 96.4% of the vote voted in favor of the grant of the performance rights to Chris Bayliss. Excuse me. Are there any questions or comments from shareholders in relation to this resolution?
Chair, there are no questions.
Okay. I now ask shareholders to complete their yellow voting card for this resolution. Thank you. Now that we've finalized the items of business, we'll address the questions that were submitted prior to the AGM and any questions from shareholders in the room. We received two pre-submitted questions from shareholders prior to the AGM, both asking when shareholders will receive dividends. One of those questions also added that given hybrid securities are receiving 7% returns, should shareholders be first in line for profit distributions? Thank you for the questions. Dividends are a topic discussed by the Board on an ongoing basis, and while paying dividends to shareholders is one of our long-term goals, as a company that still remains in a high-growth phase, we are still focused on using our capital to continue to grow our business and to deliver strong returns to investors.
Regarding the question around hybrid securities, I believe this refers to the capital notes that were issued in November 2023. These are hybrid securities and are different from ordinary shares. We use hybrid instruments like these to optimize and manage our capital position. It's important to note that we make interest payments on the hybrids, not dividends, which reflects where these instruments sit in our capital stack. With respect to ordinary dividends, as I mentioned, the capital we currently hold is primarily funding our strong lending growth, which is key to driving long-term shareholder value. As our profits continue to grow over coming years, we will definitely reach a point where dividends are possible. We absolutely recognize how important dividends are to investors, and we do look forward to reaching the natural point at which we are able to do so.
Those were the only questions that were submitted prior to today's meeting. As such, I'd now like to open to questions from shareholders in the room. If you'd like to ask a question, please make your way over to the standing microphone with your yellow or blue shareholder card, where Casey, our Judo staff member, will ask you for your name. I do ask that shareholders limit themselves, as I said, to two questions per shareholder. The mic is there.
I got David giving me a question somewhere.
All right.
Chair, there are no further questions.
There are no further questions. Okay, good. Everybody wants a cup of tea and a sausage roll, I suspect. Thank you, everybody. Thank you, everyone. That concludes the business of the meeting today. I now declare the meeting closed, and thank you for your attendance here today and for your support. If you have a yellow voting card, please do see the MUFG Corporate Markets rep to hand it in. For those that are in the room with us here today, I welcome you to stay and join us for refreshments, that cup of tea and a sausage roll. Thank you. Thank you for coming.