New Bank Considered for Hall
27 July 2008
The possibility of attracting a Community Bank® to Hall will be discussed at a meeting to be held in the Community Hall at 6.30 pm on 4th August.
Preliminary discussions have been held with State Community Enterprise Manager with Bendigo Bank, Ray Chappell to discuss the suitability of Bendigo's Community Bank® model in relatively small communities.
Mr Chappell said that there were many communities, both large and small, around Australia now being successfully served by their own Community Bank®. The community owns the business, with full banking services provided by Bendigo Bank Limited under a franchise agreement.
Not only do these communities now have the convenience of full-service banking facilities but many of them now enjoy substantial community income from their share of the profits generated by their local branch, he said.
Having a local bank is a considerable boost to the community both in convenience to residents and businesses and the retention of business that is otherwise lost when people have to go to a larger community to do their banking, he added.
Mr Chappell said there are now 217 Community Bank® branches operating under this unique model.
"Our managers and staff come with a real commitment to providing excellent service and our branches always excel in surveys of client satisfaction. And the commitment extends beyond banking to other aspects of community development including support for youth development programmes, business networking and support for other local activities and events.
Hall business proprietor Andy Fulton said that the smaller the community, the greater the proportion of local banking must be attracted to a community bank to achieve viability. So it is important that there is a large and representative attendance from throughout the district at our meeting on 4th of August.
This represents a real possibility for our community to attract a major new facility and to create a regular income stream to support future projects, he said.
Anyone needing more information before the meeting should contact Andy Fulton on 62302600.