When Marnie Baker assumed the role as managing director(CEO) of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank(Bendigo) in March this year, the board chose an executive from within who has spent almost 30 years with the bank. Baker was chief customer officer in the last three years where she drove the successful delivery of the bank’s customer-connected strategy.

Australia’s fifth-largest retail bank with more than 544 service outlets that were built over the last few decades offers a unique value proposition in the Australian market. It adopts a customer centric approach and a branch franchise model, whereby branches would be owned by hundreds of local people within each community. In excess of 300 of Bendigo’s service outlets are community owned.

“We are the only bank that is headquartered outside of a capital city in Australia. That’s a part of the secret in relation to staying close and having close relationships with our customers. I can say that for the over 500 communities in every state and territory. People on the street know that I work for the bank and openly tell me where I am right or wrong. When you are residing among your customers, you can never lose touch of what is important. It will keep you very grounded and rooted,” Baker explained.

Focus on customers and communities

The bank's business was founded on the belief that successful customers and communities create a successful bank—in that order.

"People might think of a physical network, a branch network, as just bricks and mortar, but we are seeing it as being a part of a community. It’s much broader; the bricks and mortar is a secondary thing rather that those people who are living and operating in and among their community,” she added.

The bank leads the financial services industry in customer satisfaction and scored third highest among the top 10 corporates with a positive net trust score (NTS), according to a Roy Morgan study. In...

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