Commonwealth Bank had been sounded by the owners of ME Bank, according to a well-placed source who added the bank would likely be sold in 2015.

But ME Bank chief executive Jamie McPhee insists the business is not for sale.

"No one has given me that indication at all," he said.

Commonwealth Bank declined to comment. Senior industry fund people also say ME Bank is not for sale, but none would comment on the record.

ME Bank is owned by 30 not-for-profit funds, but four big funds - AustralianSuper, CBus, HOSTPLUS, HESTA - own close to 80 per cent.

HESTA valued its 15.9 per cent stake in ME Bank at $151 million in its latest annual report. This would value the bank at $1 billion.

ME Bank has been a source of dissention between the industry funds for several years, given its need for additional capital. Some funds, such as REST, have refused to tip in more money.

Mr McPhee said shareholders had "fully committed" to a recent capital undertaking and were promoting ME Bank products to their members. As of June 30, ME Bank had 312,000 customers - or 4 per cent of members of industry super funds.

Established in 1994, ME Bank's business model is about supplying low-cost, simple products to industry fund members. It has never paid a dividend.

In the year to June, its loan book grew by 19 per cent, largely from home loans. Posting a 28 per cent rise in profit to $47 million, Mr McPhee last week said he wanted to improve ME Bank's return on equity (from 6.5 per cent, less than half the industry average) and cost-to-income ratio (71.1 per cent, well above rates for regional banks and the big four).

It plans to more than double the value of the home loans it writes, to $8 billion, over three years, through selling to people beyond members of industry super funds and unions.

Banking analyst TS Lim of Bell Potter said ME Bank's cost ratio was "pretty high even compared to the regional banks", home loans were a competitive space and there were higher regulatory costs for small banks.

The Commonwealth Bank was the go-to bank for takeovers during the financial crisis, nabbing the troubled BankWest, but any bid to increase its domestic market share could be kyboshed by the competition regulator. APRA would also have to tick off the deal.

Culturally, Bendigo & Adelaide Bank would be in the front seat to buy ME Bank.

Fairfax Media has previously revealed that the board of ME Bank rejected a recommendation by L.E.K. Consulting that it be sold in 2008.

The speculation follows Fairfax Media revealing that the $380 billion not-for-profit super industry is conducting a widespread review of its structure, led by former Labor minister Greg Combet.

The review will study the industry funds' extensive collectively owned entities and could lead to asset sales, more investments in areas such as insurance, and further mergers between funds.

The not-for-profit sector accounts for 21 per cent of the overall superannuation market, and has investments in super administration, banking, debt collection, financial planning, property trusts and pension products.

Other related-party interests include asset consultants Frontier and global infrastructure business IFM Investors.

Mr McPhee was appointed CEO of ME Bank in February 2010. He had served as chief executive of Adelaide Bank before it was bought by Bendigo Bank. ME Bank board members include former Reserve Bank governor Bernie Fraser and industry funds stalwart Garry Weaven.