History

A Brief History

Bendigo Bank had its origins on the Bendigo goldfield in 1858 when the settlement was little more than thousands of makeshift tents and humpies clustered along the gold-bearing gullies. Disturbed by the temporary and unsightly nature of these dwellings, a group of prominent citizens banded together to foster a sense of civic pride by providing finance for miners wishing to own their own homes.

Thus was born the Bendigo Permanent Land and Building Society, which immediately began financing humble miners' cottages, some of which remain in the city today.

Within 30 years, Bendigo had established itself as one of the most gracious Victorian era cities in the world, its grand public buildings a monument to the vast riches produced by the deep reef miners.

As Bendigo prospered, so did its building society, which rapidly established a reputation for prudent financial management and ethical dealing. While dozens of other societies came and went, the Bendigo grew steadily, declaring a profit in each year of its operation, even through the crises of the 1890s and 1930s Depressions.

The Bendigo's policy was a simple one, best espoused by its longest-serving Manager, Frank Perrow. "Our business," said Perrow, "consists of financing the average person into buying a house for his own family's occupation."

Perrow’s philosophy was never better tested than during the Great Depression, when many families struggled to find enough food, let alone find their mortgage payments. Rather than foreclose, the Bendigo encouraged borrowers to stay in their homes “until your circumstances improve”. This supportive approach is mirrored today in the operations of the Company’s Mortgage Help Centre.

For well over a century, the society continued to operate from just one office in Bendigo, the staff of which knew all Customers by name. It was not until the 1970s that new Manager Brian Thomas began an expansion which saw the business operating in branches throughout regional and metropolitan Victoria.

The past three decades have seen the Bendigo grow quickly, in the process acquiring a number of other firms: building societies the Bendigo and Eaglehawk Star (1978), Sandhurst (1983), Sunraysia (1985), Capital (1992) and Compass (1992), Sandhurst Trustees (1991), National Mortgage Market Corporation (1995), Monte Paschi Australia Limited (1997), IOOF Building Society (1999), debenture company Victorian Securities Corporation (1999) Queensland’s First Australian Building Society (2000) and cashflow finance company Oxford Funding (2005).

In November 2007, Bendigo merged with Adelaide Bank. This merger combines two successful companies to create a unique customer, community and partner focussed financial services organisation.

While the 1990s collapse of Victorian-based Pyramid Building Society saw not only the demise of that group but great difficulties for many other societies, the Bendigo emerged from the crisis with its balance sheet intact and its reputation enhanced. In this time of need for many small investors, the Victorian Government turned to the Bendigo to provide assistance to ensure the building society movement coped with the pressures it faced. Bendigo emerged with the confidence of its Customers unshaken and its sphere of influence expanded by the acquisition of several other companies.

This growth culminated in conversion to a Bank on 1 July, 1995. At conversion, the Bendigo was Australia's oldest, and Victoria's biggest, building society.

In 1998, Bendigo launched an innovative program to return branch banking to communities disenfranchised by the numerous branch closures across Australia during the 1990s. Community Bank® sees local communities form a company to purchase from Bendigo the right to operate a franchised Bendigo Bank branch. Bendigo provides banking support and revenue is shared with the locally owned company. By the end of 2006/07, more than 200 of these branches were operating.

The Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Group now operates more than 360 branches throughout Australia, including Community Bank® branches. The bank and its subsidiaries offer a wide range of financial services, including commercial mortgages and unsecured loans, investment products, insurance, superannuation, trustee services and foreign exchange services.

The Bendigo has come a long way since its founders surveyed their tent city in the 1850s, yet the ethos remains unchanged - a concentration on meeting the needs of customers for easily understood financial services which add to their family's well-being, and a commitment to enhancing the prospects of their communities. It is an ethos which stands Bendigo Bank in good stead in an ever-more competitive and complex financial environment.

History of innovation

Bendigo’s innovations include:-

• First financial institution to successfully introduce Visa into Australia (1982)
• First financial institution to introduce Visa debit card (1982)
• First financial institution to introduce a mortgage offset account (now a standard bank product)
• Pioneered Community Bank® as a means of securing branch banking for communities (1998)
• Introduced Australia’s first Green Loans (2002)
• Formed banking joint venture with not-for-profit sector (Community Sector Banking, 2002)