Financial inclusion and community development have been central pillars to the mutual sector’s commitment in supporting members and strengthening communities. With the formation of AMF-Cufa earlier this year, customer-owned banks may have a new not-for-profit partner in name but one that remains grounded in the same critical mission: working alongside mutuals to drive sustainable change across Australia and the Asia-Pacific.
In this week’s feature article, AMF-Cufa chief executive Darian Clark shares insights into the April 2026 merger between the Australian Mutuals Foundation (AMF) and Cufa, the flagship initiatives underway for the new organisation, and how the combined entity reinforces the ambition to deepen impact and strengthen engagement across the customer-owned banking sector.
A new chapter
Since 2016, AMF has played a key role in driving community impact, enabling mutuals to support at-risk children and youth in Australia and support long-term financial inclusion initiatives across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Similarly, with origins in Australia’s customer-owned banking movement, Cufa has a rich history in delivering economic empowerment and financial inclusion activities across the Asia-Pacific region for more than five decades.
Beginning in mid-2023, Cufa and AMF began exploring the potential benefits of merging, recognising that operating separately limited scale and impacted coherence amid increasing complexity and competition in the mutuals sector.
“In December 2024, additional momentum emerged with the announcement that Teachers Mutual Bank and Australian Mutual Bank intended to merge. They have been long-time supporters of Cufa and AMF respectively. The merger therefore offered a pathway to consolidate capability, reduce duplication, and present a unified value proposition to members, partners, and donors,” Clark explained.
“This integration builds on the complementary strengths of both entities: AMF’s community-based delivery and regional partnerships along with Cufa’s technical expertise, governance systems and experience in financial capability, inclusion, and livelihoods programming across the Asia–Pacific.”
This followed several years of positive and open dialogue that already existed between the organisations, grounded in mutual sector principles and inclusive development.
“Over time we built the trust while exploring the efficiencies of working as a single system rather than parallel entities. Importantly, overlapping stakeholders and consistent sector advocacy created institutional familiarity. This history reduced integration risk and ensured the merger was a natural evolution of practice,” Clark added.
Alongside Clark as CEO, AMF-Cufa will be chaired by Mark Worthington, former CEO of Australian Mutual Bank, and deputy chair Erica Pickford GAICD, Chief Operations Officer at Teachers Mutual Bank.
The board includes representatives from the wider mutuals sector, including Melina Morrison, CEO of the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM); Rosanna Argall, CEO of Unity Bank; Kim Shaw, who retired in mid-2025 after 34 years at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers as Principal Lawyer; and COBA CEO and World Council of Credit Unions chair, Michael Lawrence.
Teachers Mutual Bank CEO Anthony Hughes visiting children at schools in Svay Rieng participating in AMF-Cufa’s Children’s Financial Literacy program in June 2025. (Source: supplied)
Next steps as AMF-Cufa
As a combined entity, AMF-Cufa’s core purpose is focused on uplifting vulnerable people through a number of key priorities – promoting financial inclusion and income-generation opportunities, fostering credit union and cooperative growth in the region, and building resilience among disadvantaged young people and disaster-affected households in Australia.
It maintains a strong commitment to gender equality, disability, and social inclusion, ensuring no one is left behind in accessing opportunities to build financial capability and sustainable incomes.
Already, there are numerous exciting global projects focused on scalable financial inclusion in the works, such as an expansion of the award-winning Australian Social Program for Inclusive Rural Enterprise (ASPIRE) in rural Cambodia from mid-2026.
Under a new three-year partnership agreement with the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (ACCU), it has also proposed to scale up financial support while expanding its regional footprint by engaging with more national credit union bodies.
“We are currently active in Laos and Timor-Leste and we intend to extend our reach to up to three additional countries, possibly Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands,” Clark said.
“We pride ourselves on the scale and depth of our impact, punching well above our weight relative to our size. Each year, we support thousands of marginalised people in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific to improve their economic security through effective financial literacy, livelihood and economic empowerment initiatives.”
Elevating the visibility of Australia’s mutuals sector
AMF–Cufa will be positioned as the central connection point between the Australian mutual sector and international development practice. Here in Australia, this involves articulating the social value created through mutuality more effectively. Globally, it entails establishing the sector as a respected and principled development partner.
Clark added: “Consistent messaging, evidence-based impact reporting, and visible sector leadership will underpin this positioning. The brand will emphasise purpose, professionalism, and partnership, reinforcing trust with the public, policymakers, and international collaborators.”
AMF has had a long-standing partnership with ACCU to deliver community-oriented, professional development workshops for credit union professionals in Australia and the Asia Pacific. Support for the program will continue under AMF-Cufa, including sponsored participation for credit union representatives and co-delivering the training.
Given the sizeable DE graduate cohort, there are now plans to establish a new DE alumni network, Clark noted.
“In late June there will be a reunion of DE graduates at the ACCU HQ which will provide a springboard to launch this initiative, to be reinforced in July at the WCUC where global DE graduates will be meeting in the margins. Stay tuned for more updates in this respect!” he said.
Another long-standing partnership has been with child protection charity Barnardos Australia to support programs for children and youth at risk of abuse or neglect, or experiencing disadvantages in areas such as housing, healthcare and education.
AMF has been supporting Barnardos Australia since 2017, and this partnership will be embedded in AMF-Cufa’s domestic impact strategy, Clark explained.
“It exemplifies how mutual sector capability can strengthen frontline social services. Under the new entity, the partnership will focus on deeper workforce development, financial capability for families, and shared advocacy on child and family wellbeing,” he said.
“The next major objectives include strengthening outcome measurement and engaging more mutual staff in new volunteering opportunities. This approach ensures the partnership moves from programmatic collaboration to a long-term, system-level alliance.”
So, what does all this mean for COBA members moving forward?
“The primary call to action is active participation. COBA members are encouraged to engage not only as supporters, but as co-creators of impact through staff involvement, program partnerships, advocacy, and shared learning,” Clark shared.
Priority areas include participation in leadership and DE programs, support for flagship inclusion initiatives, and collective advocacy on ethical finance and social impact. Increased member visibility and voice will amplify outcomes and strengthen the sector’s influence.
“The success of AMF–Cufa ultimately depends on members seeing the organisation as an extension of their purpose, not an external partner,” he added.
To learn more about AMF-Cufa, click here.