Welcome to 2018

More Awards for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank

                  

Part of a recent message from Bank CEO, Mike Hirst, emailed to branch managers:

Welcome to what is sure to be an eventful 2018 for the financial services industry, and hopefully a prosperous one for our customers.

It was with no small amount of pride and optimism that I was informed today we have won two awards (including the top award) in the AsiaMoney Best Bank Awards 2017:

-         Best Domestic Bank

-         Best Bank for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

You’ll see from the above links that our core purpose and way of doing business continues to set industry benchmarks. And our ability to blend this with a very healthy return to shareholders distinguishes us from our competitors – both large and small.

Whilst I agree with the personal comparison to George C Scott – I won’t be accepting an Academy Award either!! – I do think the characterisation of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank as the “Steven Bradbury of banking” is misguided. We didn’t win the Best Domestic Bank award because our major competitors “fell over”. We won it because of our unwavering commitment to exceed the expectations of the customers and communities we serve.

But whatever the umpire’s reasons were, the relevance of these awards is especially stark as we head into 2018 when the financial services industry as a whole is going to be subject to more scrutiny than ever before.

In this context, the message for all of us is simple: while we need to compete hard to grow our customer base; we also need to work hard to rebuild and preserve the reputation of the industry that gives us the right to exist.

What I mean by this is that our “social licence” is just as important as our banking licence.

All that aside, we have some great things to look forward to this year, which will provide real benefit for our customers and take us further towards being Australia’s most customer-connected bank.

  

Despite all the change that’s going on around us – both within and outside our organisation, and even outside our industry – it’s important that we maintain a laser-like focus on creating great outcomes for our customers.

For a long time we’ve aimed to make it easier for our customers to do business with us and I know we are all looking for improvement opportunities to make that happen. At a fundamental level, we can all help our customers by knowing and performing our respective roles. And it’s equally important for managers to be really clear on what the expected outcomes are for their teams and to truly engage their teams in achieving those outcomes.

I hope the year ahead is a great one for you both professionally and personally.

All the best and thank you again for all your efforts that enable us to stand out from the industry.

Mike Hirst

Managing Director

For more details, click on the links in the article.