ONE of the first customers with a then-radical "community bank" idea has spoken about the excitement the project generated in her town.
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Michelle Clark took her daughter Emma down to Bendigo Bank's Minyip community branch 25 years ago today, on the first day of an experiment in community building.
Emma deposited 10 dollars that day and her savings helped fund the deposit on her first home, 20 years later.
The pair recreated a photo of that moment from 1998, which was captured in a picture from the period.
Bendigo Bank opened the first of its community banks in Minyip and Rupanyup. They and the more than 300 that followed return profits directly back into the communities that generate them.
"The day the bank opened was so exciting, it was such a tremendous feeling," Ms Clark said.
"We could see the need for a bank in our community, put together a working group and started knocking on doors. We believed in what we were doing, made it happen and never looked back."
Bendigo Bank expects its community banks to return a total $300 million in profits in the 25th year of the model.
They have a total $20 billion on loans and $31.3 billion in deposits.
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