A NEW alliance between BankWest and pharmacy wholesaler Australian Pharmaceutical Industries is the latest of several initiatives by the bank to penetrate the healthcare industry.
As part of the alliance, BankWest has purchased API’s finance subsidiary, which has a $300 million loan and lease book.
API will continue to promote the API Finance brand, while BankWest will fund and credit manage the portfolio, as well as helping develop new products and services for pharmacists.
Other initiatives taken by BankWest in the healthcare sector include the formation of a healthcare banking unit late last year and the launch of a banking package for pharmacists, called PharmacyConnect.
BankWest also has established a partnership with a second major pharmaceutical wholesaler, Sigma.
This partnership includes a debit card scheme and loyalty program for pharmacists.
BankWest Business Solutions chief executive Peter Jackson said healthcare was seen as an attractive, growing industry, and BankWest faced keen competition from other banks.
The bank’s aim was to widen its relationships, from commercial services offered in partnership with the wholesale companies to personal banking services for individual pharmacists, he said.
Not all of BankWest’s healthcare ventures have proved fruitful, however. Plans to establish GuildBank, a joint venture with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, were cancelled in 1999.
