Survey shows low interest in banking

By KATH GANNAWAY
A SURVEY has shown that initial indications the Healesville community was eager to set up a branch of the Bendigo Bank in the town didn’t transfer to money in the bank when the hard questions were asked.
The Wandin Branch of the Bendigo Bank distributed the survey late last year.
Wandin manager Tony Forbes said: “We spent $5000 on the survey and were pretty keen to get in over there but the response was very low in terms of people who expressed an interest in bringing all their banking over.
“Some said they would bring some but a lot said they would not change at all.”
Mr Forbes said they decided to do the survey in response to inquiries from people asking about a branch for Healesville and the fact Wandin has a number of accounts from Healesville residents.
He said out of about 3000 surveys, the bank received more than 2200 responses.
“We thought it was going to be overwhelming, but it wasn’t, mainly because there are established banks in the town,” he said.
Healesville Chamber of Commerce president Garry Slater said the chamber had neither endorsed nor rejected the proposal but had provided a forum for interested members to meet with Bendigo Bank representatives to gain information on the process.
“From a chamber perspective, our view was that we are supportive of any new business coming into town but as with any other type of business, we would hate to see a new business come in and put an existing business out.
“There was a bit of uncertainty in Tony’s mind and in our mind as to how a subbranch would go up against three existing banks,” Mr Slater said.
Loyalty to existing bank staff could be one of the factors behind people not wanting to withdraw from the existing big banks, despite voicing dissatisfaction with services, Mr Forbes said.
“It is very hard to get people to commit while there is a bank left in a town,” he said.