Speaking at the bank's annual meeting in Invercargill yesterday, attended by more than 100 society members, Mr Smith said he and Invercargill accountant Mike Piper met at the Avenal Hotel to start what became known as the "Ginger Group".
All five members of the group - Messrs Smith, Piper, Warren Conway, John Ward and Jeff Walker - understood that the responsibility of their actions was to accept board appointment and, collectively, they were either still serving or had recently retired.
"Your courage in becoming involved stemmed initially from a passionate desire to save a Southland institution that we each had personal connections with.
"On reflection, knowing what we now know, it is clear that, collectively, we took some real risks, which poses the question: I wonder if we would be so brave now?"
Mr Smith retired yesterday from 21 years on the board, the last 18 as chairman.
Mr Smith said the group's support and friendship had been his "rock" on which he relied for strength during those challenging moments.
He also paid a moving tribute to his wife, Dinah, who gave up her career to manage their family and manage his time commitments.
Twenty-one years on, Mr Smith felt he could reveal the difficulties he faced convincing or pleading with disaffected members to remain loyal and support SBS.
Those not wanting to sell to Westpac defeated those wanting to sell by 51% to 49%.
Each day, there were reports of withdrawn deposits and, consequently, the directors all made many visits and calls to such members.
Mr Smith also acknowledged the work of the SBS staff, particularly mentioning chief executive Ross Smith, with whom he had enjoyed an "outstanding" 20-year working relationship formed by the mutual trust and integrity both parties brought to SBS.
In his concluding remarks, Acton Smith urged the directors not to be afraid of the future. It would be challenging but exciting and fun to beat the challenges.
He wanted them to set a goal, plan their actions and enjoy their success.
"SBS is only as good as the good people who work in it. For the sake of our members, employ and train only the best."
Ross Smith said in his address there was no doubt the world economy was in somewhat of a mess, not helped by some greedy investment bankers who seemed hell-bent on rorting the system for their own benefit.
"We are fortunate that the New Zealand economy and New Zealand banks are in better shape. That's not to suggest business is easy; it is definitely not and I expect it will remain that way for a few years yet."
Given the current environment, the SBS group had performed well in the past 12 months, he said. The surplus before tax of $17 million, while not a record, came after provisioning and loan losses of $22 million.
In a year in which SBS found growth of its balance sheet a challenge, staff made strengthening the balance sheet a focus.
SBS now had $379 million in cash reserves and had access to a further $215 million. Members' equity now stood at $208 million.
"All of these figures will give considerable comfort to our investors at a time of uncertainty in the market."
Looking ahead, Mr Smith said the underlying fundamentals of the New Zealand economy remained sound but, as an export-reliant economy, New Zealand was only as healthy as its neighbours.
He expected interest rates to remain low for at least the next 12 months and there would be slow growth in the economy.
"We face a slow road to recovery, but we are in a very healthy state and we will spend our time wisely, ensuring we are ready when the growth spurt arrives."
