Is Bankwest owned by CBA?

Yes, Bankwest has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia since 2008, though it operates under its own brand, pricing and, to an extent, credit policy.

Is Bank of Melbourne the same as Westpac?

Bank of Melbourne is a brand owned and operated by Westpac Banking Corporation, alongside St.George and BankSA, each with its own pricing and regional identity.

Can Bankwest approve a loan that CBA declined?

It's possible, since each brand maintains its own serviceability settings and policy nuances even though they sit in the same banking group — a broker can test both without a second hard credit enquiry in some cases, depending on the lenders' processes.

Do Bankwest and Bank of Melbourne offer the same cashback deals as their parent banks?

Not necessarily — each brand runs its own promotional calendar, so the current cashback or fixed-rate special at Bankwest or Bank of Melbourne can differ from what CBA or Westpac is offering at the same time.

Bankwest vs Bank of Melbourne: which home loan suits you?

Last reviewed 14 August 2026

Bankwest (owned by CBA) and Bank of Melbourne (owned by Westpac) are both regional-flavoured brands sitting inside a big four banking group. Each can price and assess slightly differently to its parent, which sometimes makes one of them the better fit even when the parent bank has said no or offered a less competitive deal.

Attribute	Bankwest	Bank of Melbourne
Rate positioning	Competitive variable and fixed pricing with a Western Australian heritage brand; policy and pricing set independently of CBA day-to-day, though ultimately part of the same group.	Positioned with a Victorian community heritage brand; pricing and promotions can differ from Westpac's own at any given time.
Offset & redraw	Offset available on packaged variable loans; redraw generally available.	Offset available on packaged variable products; redraw generally available.
Fees	Annual package fee structure broadly comparable to major bank packages.	Annual package fee structure broadly comparable to major bank packages.
Cashback / promotions	Has run its own refinance cashback offers, sometimes more aggressive than CBA's at the same time.	Has run its own refinance cashback offers, sometimes more aggressive than Westpac's at the same time.
Turnaround / service	Own contact centre and digital banking; smaller footprint than CBA but generally efficient.	Own branch presence concentrated in Victoria; generally efficient broker-channel service.
Borrowing power quirks	Uses its own serviceability settings, which can occasionally differ from CBA's parent settings and approve a file CBA declined (or vice versa).	Similarly runs its own serviceability settings distinct from Westpac's, useful when the flagship brand's calculator is unfavourable to your file.
Best suited to	Borrowers wanting big-four-backed security with a distinct regional brand and, sometimes, a sharper live offer.	Victorian-based or Westpac-group borrowers wanting a local brand feel with big-four backing.

Why 'second brand' comparisons matter

Because Bankwest and Bank of Melbourne sit inside CBA's and Westpac's groups respectively but run their own credit and pricing settings, a broker will sometimes run the same application through the parent bank and its second brand to see which one comes back with a better outcome — same underlying banking group, genuinely different result.

What's actually different

Promotional cashback and fixed-rate specials are set independently at each brand and don't always mirror the parent bank's current offer.
Serviceability calculators, while built on similar risk principles, are maintained separately and can produce a different maximum loan amount for an identical file.
Branch and service footprint differs — Bankwest is historically strongest in WA, Bank of Melbourne in Victoria — though both now operate more broadly.

Who should pick which

If CBA's calculator or current offer doesn't work for your file, ask a broker to check Bankwest before assuming the answer is the same across the group.

Same logic applies for Westpac and Bank of Melbourne — and St.George and BankSA are worth checking too, since all three sit under the same parent with independent settings.

A note on pricing

Indicative only — check current pricing. Rates, fees and cashback offers change frequently and vary by loan purpose, LVR and lender promotion. Nothing on this page is a quote; speak to an XLOANS broker for live pricing from both lenders.

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Indicative only — check current pricing. This page is general information, not financial advice, and does not quote live rates. Lender policy, pricing and cashback offers change frequently. Speak to an XLOANS broker for advice tailored to your situation.

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