While the TSB Bank’s history stretches back to 1850 when it was first known as the New Plymouth Savings Bank, The TSB Community Trust was formed in 1988 as the owner and sole shareholder of TSB Bank Limited. This move followed government deregulation of the banking industry in New Zealand in the mid-1980s when TSB Bank strove to maintain its independence against government pressure to amalgamate with other trustee banks around the country.

Even though the Trust owns the bank, it is a separate entity to TSB Bank. Trustees on the TSB Community Trust are appointed by the government for a four-year term. Meanwhile, TSB Bank has its own board of directors who are appointed in turn by the TSB Community Trust. But as the sole shareholder of TSB Bank, each year the Trust receives a dividend from the Bank which it can distribute for “charitable, cultural, philanthropic, recreational and other purposes beneficial to the community, principally in Taranaki". 

Due to the exceptional performance of TSB Bank and the support of its loyal customers, this dividend has grown each year. In 1990 - its first year of distributing grants - the Trust gave $161,000 in funds. The annual funding distribution now runs into the millions of dollars helping Taranaki individuals and organisations with unparalleled financial support to achieve their goals and needs.