LLL made the decision to transition to a Religious Charitable Development Fund (RCDF) to ensure that we can continue to fulfil our purpose of supporting the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA), providing finance with a mission to the Church and its community as we've done for over 100 years.
This means changes to our accounts.
History
In 2019, LLL transitioned to become an Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (ADI). Regulatory changes at the time prevented RCDFs like us from providing some of our depositors with at-call savings accounts unless we obtained an ADI licence under the Banking Act.
In 2022, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) updated its regulatory prudential standard relating to associations and dealings with related entities. The changes imposed stronger requirements for ADIs to monitor, limit and control risks arising from transactions and associations with related entities.
The updated requirements were relevant because of LLL's support of the Lutheran Church – which is regarded as a related entity. We have been in discussions with APRA regarding those updated requirements, which would have required LLL to significantly reduce its support of the Lutheran Church in order to comply with the updated prudential standard.
We had no intention of doing this as the support of the Lutheran Church is fundamental to LLL. Consequently, we determined that it was no longer suitable for LLL to remain an ADI.
As a RCDF we are not able to provide an instant access product other than to a limited range of Church bodies and Associates#. Alternatively, we can provide a minimum 31-day notice of withdrawal facility, which features daily accrued interest and zero fees and charges, and we will be offering a range of other investment products.
LLL has demonstrated a solid financial performance over many decades. Transitioning to a RCDF means that in future we will be able to expand our support of the Lutheran Church and its community.
If you have any questions or require assistance, please visit our RCDF FAQs and Disclosure Documents webpages, email [email protected] or call 1800 556 457.
We thank God for our continued partnership and we are looking forward to continuing our support of the Lutheran Church and its community as a RCDF.
# Associate means an investor or potential investor in a Facility that is the LCA, a body constituted by or under the authority of the LCA, a LCA entity, a member of the General Church Board, LCA clergy, a Lutheran body of shared charitable purpose or a paid employee of the LCA or LLL. LLL will determine whether a person qualifies as an Associate when they apply for a Facility. Eligibility criteria apply; further definitions can be referred to in the Disclosure Documents of the relevant products.