What Is Community Banking?

The Community Bank® model was developed by Bendigo Bank to provide communities with the certainty that banking services will be available locally.

It is a franchise, with the community owning the rights to operate a Bendigo Bank branch.

The local community forms a public company limited by shares to represent the local community. The company raises capital locally and purchases from Bendigo Bank the right to run a bank branch.

A Community Bank® branch has three aims:

• To secure branch banking services for participating communities.
• To help communities better manage locally generated capital, and so provide them with a better return on their capital.
• To enable participating communities to share in revenues generated from their Community Banking enterprise.

Since 1998 local communities and the Bendigo Bank have successfully established over 250 community branches throughout Australia.

For more detailed information about the Community Bank® model, click here.