QLD's first Community Bank opens its doors

Paradise Point will welcome the return of banking to the Gold Coast region with the historic opening of Paradise Point Community Bank.

After 18 months of work, the community will celebrate the opening of Queensland's first, Bendigo Bank Community Bank, a unique financial institution in the State.

Bendigo's Community Banking chief manager Russell Jenkins said: "Community Banking is more than just banking".

"The opening of Paradise Point Community Bank will immediately return basic banking services but in the long term it will mean much more than that.

"It has the capacity to return other services to Paradise Point and the promise of a financial return to the community which can be reinvested back into other community-based initiatives.

"We should never forget what Paradise Point has achieved. More than 200 shareholders have raised more than $500,000 to get this branch open.

"This is a wonderful example of a co-operatively spirited but commercially based enterprise Paradise Point should be proud of," Mr Jenkins said.

Today's opening of Paradise Point Community Bank will mark the 46th Community Bank branch to open its doors, the first Bendigo Bank backed Community Bank in QLD.

Local businessman John Hooton and a group of nine local business people and local residents have led the charge for the return of banking to Paradise Point.

"This really is a celebration of community spirit and something we should all be extremely proud of," Mr Hooton said.

"We have not only returned a vital service to our community but in the long-term there is also the prospect of further rewards for shareholders and the community as a whole.

"We should be proud of what we have achieved, returning banking to our community."

The branch at 42, The Esplanade, will be launched today at 11am.

Paradise Point Community Bank will officially open for business at 9am tomorrow. (Eds: 2 October)