Advance Bank
The Advance Bank was an Australian bank that existed from 1985 until 1997, when it merged with St George Bank. It is not related to Advance Bank AG of Germany (which was shut down by Allianz AG in 2003). It started as the NSW Permanent Building & Investment Society in 1939. In 1982, it established a funds management division, Advance Asset Management, which is now a specialist asset management business within the Westpac Group. "Its focus is on asset allocation and risk management, implemented through a multi-manager process, providing investment opportunities across a range of asset classes, including  shares, property, fixed interest and cash." The building society was demutualised in 1985 and became known as the Advance Bank. In 1995, Advance Bank acquired the State Bank of South Australia, which it continued to run as a separate business unit under the name "Bank of South Australia", branded "BankSA". Advance Bank (and its BankSA subsidiary) was taken over in 1997 by St George Bank, itself another former building society. St George Bank was then taken over by Westpac. See also. There are a number of building societies and banks with intertwining histories. These include: