By Shamsiya Hussainpoor
Community Bendigo Bank has officially opened its doors in Emerald following a grand opening on Tuesday 10 September, the event was well-attended by senior finance experts, local business leaders and residents – all excited to explore the new facility and its offerings.
The well-attended event marked a significant milestone for the community, setting the stage for the bank to serve and support its local clientele effectively.
The new branch in Emerald, located at Shop 1-3 344 Belgrave-Gembrook Road, has replaced the former branch in Cockatoo
The staff from the Cockatoo-Gembrook branch has now moved to the new Emerald location, and they are excited to continue supporting the community with all their banking needs – they look forward to welcoming both existing and new customers to the new branch.
Bendigo Bank Emerald branch manager Bruch McConnell said he’s optimistic the relocation from Cockatoo to the busier Emerald area will provide more opportunities to serve the community effectively – he hopes the move will enhance their ability to meet the needs of both existing and new customers.
“The relocation of our Cockatoo branch has been an exhausting process, we’ve been serving Cockatoo and Gembrook for nearly 19 years, we worked hard to establish it with the locals, so the move understandably caused a lot of disappointment, and people felt it was as if we were closing and abandoning the area, despite our efforts to clarify that we were only relocating, not shutting down,” Mr McConnell said.
“Over the past few years, two of the big four banks have withdrawn from the area, leaving locals with fewer banking options, to now establish a prominent presence in this community is both exciting for us and beneficial for the locals.”
The branch manager said the community bank is poised to outperform the major banks in the Dandenongs due to its strong reputation and established presence within the community.
“People often view the big four banks as profit-driven entities that don’t support local communities, in contrast, Bendigo Bank has a strong track record of community support through sponsorships, grants, and donations and as we establish ourselves in this prominent area, we hope more people will recognise who we are, where we are, and what we do,” he said.
“We’ll will give small businesses a banking option they may not already have, but not necessarily for businesses, but certainly for organisations that make up communities, like football clubs, RSLs, CFAs, it helps give them a bit of support in terms of being able to do what they do for the community.”
“Across the road, we have the Emerald SES, for example, on windy days and during storms, they’re on call to assist the community and a few months ago, we donated chainsaws to them – this kind of support helps them to better serve the community, clear roads, and restore electricity more quickly.”
Mr McConnell, who has over 30 years of experience in the finance and banking industry, including 27 years with one of the big four banks and nearly a decade with Bendigo Bank – said there’s a significant difference between Bendigo Bank and other major banks.
“It was more noticeable when I first started with Bendigo Bank, for a bank to provide support to local communities, and having worked in a corporate bank where that just didn’t happen, like sponsorship was always at a bigger corporate level but they wouldn’t necessarily sponsor the local RSL or the local CFA, it was one of the first things I noticed straight away,” he said.
“The attitude of everyone that worked in the organisation and working towards helping each other to become a good bank regardless of what department you rang, everyone was prepared to help you, and you really didn’t get that in a big bank.”
Emerald RSL and Emerald Village Association (EVA) president Peter Maloney said Bendigo Bank’s support has been crucial to their organisation’s success and progress.
“With all this money that the community helps them make, they put it back into the community, helping local community groups, and sorting groups – it’s a win-win situation,” he said.
“If you walk around Emerald, you’ll notice the plaques at places like the RSL and the community hub are all supported by Bendigo Bank – as more people support this bank, you will see even more this in the future.”
Bendigo Bank regional manager for Yarra Ranges Chris Cahir also attended the opening day on Tuesday and he said it’s great to be part of a really vibrant area and continue community banking traditionally in such a great spot.
“This is the continuation of the Bendigo Bank-community bank era, which has been in place for over 26 years now and giving back over $300 million to community and it’s great to be involved in communities such as Emerald,” he said.
“Hopefully this means a return to good old fashioned banking service from people who live in the area and invested in the community, and I want to help support local projects and the community events and organisations that locals are involved with as well.”
