New lead for community bank

COMMUNITY Bank Buninyong board member of two years, Brett Jones, has become chair of the financial services organisation.

Mr Jones is the CEO of Greyhound Clubs Victoria, and is a lawyer, having been admitted to the Bar in 2023.

He is stepping up while outgoing chair Ian Corcoran prepares to stand down from his role as a director after 13 years of service.

Born in Ballarat, Mr Jones studied engineering and business administration at Federation University and worked with Bendix for 10 years as a production and design engineer.

“To complement my CEO and business skills, I love strategy type subject matter,” he said.

“I have bought and sold busineses, but I wanted a role that was a bit more community impact-focused… So I went through the application process to become a director at Community Bank Buninyong.

“Coming from a highly complex regulatory environment professionally, it’s great to balance that with a local communty bank that’s investing in so many projects having a postitive effect.”

It’s a period of change for the organisation as the branch prepares to move up Warrenheip Street to a renovated 407 building – next door to Buninyong Community House – by Christmas.

“I want to continue to build on the legacy and successes of the bank, and broaden our reach and impact,” he said.

“That’s heavily reliant on growing the core business of banking so we can do more good in the local community.

“[As community bank branches like Bannockburn close], we look to our strategic pillars like future proofing, and look for opportunities to aggregate branches and leverage our skills and capabilities across the region, but not lose focus on our local community impact.

“The banking industry is a dynamic and changing environment, so it’s our responsibility to keep pace with that change. We want to continue to do what we do really well.”

Mr Jones said Community Bank Buninyong’s competitive advantage is its people.

“We’ve been nominated or have won many different customer service awards,” he said. “Our people are the engine room.

“You can feel their community spirit and passion for positive community impact. That makes a huge difference… and moves away from that distrust of big banks.

“But we need to continue to develop our community engagement through the branch. An opportunity to do that is through this branch relocation.

“We can build more community awareness. There’s some great opportunities ahead.”

Mr Jones said his connection to Buninyong is strong, having lived locally for decades, and he sent his three daughters to Buninyong Primary School.

“I’m a passionate supporter of the Buninyong region and look forward to continuing to promote local businesses and positive impact projects in the area,” he said.

Buninyong and District Financial Services Limited is the operating group behind Community Bank Buninyong as a locally owned Bendigo Bank franchise.