Bendigo Bank sweeps awards, Australian and abroad

Laverton, Monday 25 July 2011:Two awards presented on different continents represented an endorsement of Bendigo Bank’s community banking philosophy, said Mr Dawson Senior Manager, Altona, Laverton and Point Cook Community Bank® Branches Bendigo Bank.

Bendigo Bank was awarded Australian Reader’s Digest’s Most Trusted Bank at a Sydney ceremony, while in Singapore the company was presented with Asian Banking & Finance’s Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program.

“I think both awards recognise our determination to share value with all stakeholders who contribute to our business,” Mr Dawson said.

“That includes the investor who provides the funds, the borrower, the bank's shareholders who bear the risk of the borrower not paying, and society itself.

“We believe that successful customers and successful communities create a successful bank - in that order.

“We try to feed intoprosperity, not offit. Simply put, it’s hard to run a successful company in a poor community, so it makes sense to invest in helping to create a wealthier, more cohesive and inclusive community.”

Managing Director of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Mike Hirst said the Community Bank^® model, which won the Singapore-based award, works as a shared value model.

“It creates economic value at the same time it helps communities address their needs and challenges,” Mr Hirst said.

“Of course we are not doing this on our own. This award belongs just as much to all of our partner communities and the leaders in those communities, who recognise the opportunity that aggregating their banking business to access a funding stream brings. This success is recognition of all their hard work too.”

There are now 276 Community Bank^® branches that have returned more than $56 million in community grants – $40 million in just the past four years.

“These grants have been responsible for building community centres and health services; bought fire trucks and community buses; funded scholarships and sponsored hundreds of sporting teams.

“Increasingly, too, our company owned branches are returning significant funding to community projects.

“When combined with the excellent service our staff provide, our willingness to contribute to the community provides us with a high level of respect and trust - as reflected by the Reader’s Digest Award.

“In large part that’s about trusting a bank with your money. But it’s also trusting your bank to do the right thing by the community – and people around the world are demanding this of all companies more and more.

“Quite rightly, people today are looking for more from their banks. We do not pretend to be perfect – far from it – but I think this vote of confidence from Reader’s Digest subscribers shows that people recognise our motivation is right and generally we do succeed in sharing the value their banking creates.”

 

Banking on the Community

Members of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank’s Board and Executive and representatives of the Community Bank^® network met with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and other members of Federal Parliament to launch the bank’s “In the Community” report at Parliament House in Canberra late last month.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Managing Director, Mike Hirst, said the report highlights the bank’s significant involvement in investing in the sustainability of Australian communities through its Community Bank^® model and other ‘beyond banking’ initiatives.

“At Bendigo and Adelaide Bank we are committed to working with our local communities to deliver employment opportunities for local people, retain capital locally and provide a source of revenue for projects initiated by local communities,” Mr Hirst said.

“If we can help create vibrant local communities, generate strong support for community business and foster strong, long lasting partnerships, we will grow our own business and promote a highly effective local and national economy.

“We believe a bank’s role is to feed into prosperity, not off it, and our bank achieves this through a number of unique business models and social initiatives, that help to underscore what can be achieved through strong partnership between business, community and government – be it in rural, regional or suburban localities,” he said.

Altona, Laverton/Altona Meadows and Point Community Bank^® Chairman, Henry Da Silva, said the bank recently reached an important milestone when the Community Bank^® national network returned $50 million to support local community groups and projects across the country, and he said the figure is growing.

“Our Community Bank^® branches have contributed more than $1 million dollars to our local community.

“Initiatives like our Community Enterprise Foundation™ and Community Sector Banking, among others, also contribute significantly to this philosophy and are a large focus of the report.

At the end of last year, the Altona, Laverton/Altona Meadows and Point Cook Community Bank® Branches held public forums. The aim of the forums was to identify a community project that could be undertaken with the aid of funds generated by the Community Bank® Branches. The project may be one-off or ongoing and may be carried out in collaboration with other groups or the government. Project ideas generated, ranged from the arts through to health and entertainment. Forum participants are currently in the process of providing feedback on key projects identified, with further consultations with stakeholders in the pipeline.

“We genuinely believe that by working together in partnership with other stakeholders – including Government – so much more can be achieved to help build the local economies in communities throughout Australia,” Mr Da Silva said.

To find out more about the bank’s involvement in the community go to www.bendigobank.com.au.