Michael Lawrence

Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA)

Mike is the Chief Executive Officer of the Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA), the industry body for Australia’s credit unions, building societies and mutual banks, following his appointment on 4 December 2017.

In April 2018, Mike became a Director of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), the peak international body for the credit union movement globally and in 2019 was appointed a Director of the Australian Mutuals Foundation.

Mike has over 30 years of experience in financial services, primarily gained with AMP Bank and National Australia Bank.

Mike was Managing Director of AMP Bank for 8 years and prior to this, Mike undertook senior roles in all distribution channels of banking, namely, Corporate, Commercial and Retail and having done so across three continents, Australia, UK, and USA.

Mike is passionate about community involvement and using his skills that have been acquired over a very fortunate career in playing his part in helping others. Most recently, Mike was the Vice Chair of Heart Research Australia, a board he served on for 13 years. He currently sits on the advisory board of Zafin, a global fintech innovation leader. He is also involved in many activities associated with Special Needs.