Bendigo Bank to close its Geelong doors

BENDIGO Bank will close six of its Victorian branches this year, including one in Geelong.

The Malop Street branch will shut its doors on August 1, joining nine others across the country, following a review of customer preferences, business activity reduction and cost increases.

Bendigo Bank chief executive officer and managing director Richard Fennell said closing branches was always a last resort.

“We are proud of our heritage and in order to continue delivering for our customers and communities, we must ensure our branches are adequately supported and resourced,” he said.

“To preserve what makes our bank unique, we must balance our physical network presence with the need to continue investing in the changing preferences of our 2.7 million customers.”

Customers were alerted to the closure via a text message, apologising for the inconvenience of the decision and encouraging them to visit a different branch.

Bendigo Bank will work to explore opportunities to deploy affected team members and support people through the process.

Bannockburn and Ballarat Central are among the other branches to close their doors later in the year.

Bendigo Bank in Geelong West will remain open for customers while people can also choose to bank in-person through Bank@Post at 3,500 Australia Post outlets.

For more information, head to bendigobank.com.au .