LONG anticipated by many, the doors of the new Meeniyan Bendigo Bank Agency officially opened for business last Wednesday morning to the delight of all.
The new Agency is situated in a suite of offices with entry from Whitelaw Street, yet is contained within the Brown Wigg premises. Welcoming, spacious and beautifully appointed, the Agency could be mistaken for a full Branch.
Following the closure of the original Meeniyan Agency in July 2011, much work has been done behind the scenes to see the return of community banking to the township.
“There are a significant number of Meeniyan people who want to bank with Bendigo Bank because they know when they join our Community branch, the profits stay with local shareholders and are returned to the community through grants for projects or groups,” said Allen Van Kuyk, chairman of Promontory District Finance Group Limited which owns and operates Toora Community Bank® Branch and Foster Sub Branch – the parent Branch of the Meeniyan Agency.
The Toora Branch was the fourth Community Bank to open in Australia and in the following 13 years has put over half a million dollars back into the Promontory district community.
David Wigg, Michael Brown and Lucas Johnston of Brown Wigg were keen to take over the agency and return Bendigo Bank services to the local community.
Trevor Walder has joined Brown Wigg to work primarily at the Meeniyan Agency. He has spent many years living in the Leongatha area and is thrilled and proud to have been given the opportunity to be able to be a part of community banking – bringing a style of banking to the people which reminds him of the way it was when he started out as a teller over 30 years ago.
Adding extra support to the Agency, Branch Manager Allison Drury and her team at the Foster Branch will provide assistance and oversee the operations of the Meeniyan Agency. Allison will be regularly available at the Meeniyan Agency to discuss all your banking needs, including business, agribusiness and equipment finance requirements.
“It’s been a long haul but it’s finally happened,” said Rob Francis, Regional Manager of Bendigo Bank South West Gippsland.
At the official opening, Mr Francis praised the efforts of the steering committee, the Promontory District Finance Group and Brown Wigg for their efforts which have resulted in such a fantastic outcome.
Brown Wigg Director Lucas Johnston, also extremely happy with the outcome, spoke on behalf of his fellow directors, saying that he has been proud to be able to assist in the drive to bring banking back to Meeniyan.
“Having community support such as we do here makes the reintroduction of banking to Meeniyan a very smooth process,” Mr Johnston said.
He noted that Brown Wigg has similar core values to the Community Bank in its commitment to the community.
“Knowing the people and how we can better assist them ensures that each person is not just a number, but a valued client,” he said.
Lindsay Moore, former president of the steering committee, said that it was a great relief to see that at last everything had fallen into place, including the wonderful venue of the new Agency.
The Agency will operate with ‘real time banking’. This means that customers will continue to enjoy the high level of service that Bendigo Bank community bank branches are renowned for, with same day access to funds, immediate transfer of funds between existing accounts and electronic funds transfer. As an example, you will be able to deposit funds to your account and then pay bills via the internet from home.
Call in and see the new Agency at Brown Wigg, 110-116 Whitelaw Street, Meeniyan. The Bendigo Bank Agency is open from Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm.
Foster.vic.au feed
Discussion
Comments are disallowed for this post.
Comments are closed.