No surprise - it's the Heartland bank

Rural lending and small to medium sized business will be the main focus of the new 'Heartland Bank'. Photo / supplied

The owners of the would-be bank formed from Marac and two building societies have surprised no one by deciding to call the new financial services group "Heartland".

While it cannot yet be called the Heartland Bank, since it does not have a banking licence, the newly formed group has outlined plans to make such an application in the second half of this year.

Business and rural services will be first to get the new branding, said managing director Jeff Greenslade.

The official name for the organisation, till now, has been Building Society Holdings, and comprises the merged activities of Pyne Gould 's Marac commercial finance arm, CBS Canterbury, and the Southern Cross Building Society.

"Heartland started out as our project name in the early stages of the merger process," said Greenslade. "We explored a number of alternative names over a nine month period before agreeing on Heartland, as it was a name that resonated in the minds of our customers, staff, and with the media."

The NZX-listed business will concentrate on lending to small and medium -sized enterprises and the rural sector, "and the families that stand behind them," Greenslade said.

Issued at 88 cents and listed on February 1, shares in the venture last traded at 71 cents apiece.