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When most people think of personal loans, they probably think of bank loans. You visit your bank (or call them or visit their website), and you fill out an application form. If you're approved, you'll get the money to use for personal expenses -- making a large purchase, financing a family holiday, or consolidating other debts for example.
Then you'll have a certain amount of time to pay off your debt (anywhere from one year to several years depending on the loan amount and the lender). You pay interest based on an annual percentage rate over the course of your loan.
Bank loans probably won't get money in your hands as quickly as a payday loan or a credit card. They will, however, generally offer lower interest rates. Personal bank loans are the ideal option if you know you'll need a loan with an extended repayment period or a large loan that wouldn't be possible with payday loans and credit cards.
If a bank loan sounds like the personal lending option you're looking for, you can browse personal bank loans from a variety of lenders below. Just click the "read more" link next to any bank or credit union listed below and you'll find details about their lending policies to help you compare loans. |
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| Aussie is a general finance provider with a strong market position with young families and those with poor credit. Read more » |
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| Bananacoast Credit Union, or BCU, is a regional credit union in New South Wales with a large internet presence which has enabled it to offer personal loans across Australia. Read more » |
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| Bankwest, or the Bank of Western Australia, is a regional bank that is based in Perth, Western Australia and is owned by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, although since 1995 to 2008 it had been owned by the Bank of Scotland which had aggressively expanded its market presence. Read more » |
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| Bendigo Bank is the retail arm of the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. It has a nationwide presence with 900 branches in all states and territories, with 291 Bendigo branches, 240 Community Bank branches and 400 Rural bank branches. Their target market tends to be small business owners and high net worth individuals. Read more » |
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| The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is by some measures Australia’s largest bank and the second largest company on the Australian Securities Exchange. It was founded by the Australian government in 1911 and was privatized in the 1990s. It has more than seven million customers and 1,000 branches. Read more » |
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| Community CPS is one of the larger Credit Unions in Australia and in 2008 was named as Credit Union of the Year. Unlike a bank it is not owned by shareholders but by its members. Read more » |
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| Community First is one of the larger credit unions in the metropolitan Sydney area and provides a wide range of banking services throughout this area. Read more » |
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| CUA, or Credit Union Australia, is a large Queensland based credit union which has seventy branches spread across most Australian provinces. Read more » |
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| Encompass is a Sydney based Credit Union with five branches and 23,000 members. It has its roots in various transport industry credit unions and it still has a bias towards people who work in either the public or private transport industries. Read more » |
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| GE Money is the financial services arm of the American company General Electric, and is part of the GE Capital group. It offers a wide range of personal banking services through retail partners who can offer GE Money products to their customers without the need to have specialist staff. Read more » |
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| Mecu is a large credit union. It sells itself as a “non-bank” that is based upon co-operative principles while providing a professional banking service. It was the first Australian credit union to get a Standard & Poor rating, proving its stability. Mecu offers a full range of personal financial products including credit cards and insurance. Read more » |
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| Members Equity Bank, or M E Bank, is an Australian Bank aimed at offering low cost finance products, including mortgages, investments and savings products. Members Equity Bank was founded in 1994; it changed its name to Members Equity Bank in 1999. Read more » |
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| National Australia Bank, or NAB, is one of Australia’s largest banks, and the seventeenth largest bank in the world. As well as being a big Australian bank in terms of customers, it also operates in ten other countries and has more than eight million customers worldwide. Read more » |
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| The Maritime, Mining and Power Credit Union is a credit union based in Parramatta, New South Wales. As a credit union it is owned by its customers and not by shareholders. Its membership is open to every Australian. Read more » |
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| RACV, or the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria, is the Victoria affiliate of the Australian Automobile Association. It is mutually owned and was founded in 1903. Its core service is its roadside assistance program, for which it has 1.99 million members. Read more » |
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| St. George Bank is a lender that has recently been taken over by Westpac but continues to operate under its own name with its own branch network and products. Read more » |
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| Suncorp is a Queensland bank that grew from a merger with a state owned bank; a state owned insurance group and a prominent private bank. It is Australia’s fifth largest listed financial services group. Read more » |
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| Westpac, or Western Pacific Banking Corporation, is of the largest general banks in Australia by market capitalisation. It also has an international presence, particularly in the Pacific region (is is the second largest bank in New Zealand). Read more » |
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