Bendigo & Adelaide Bank will not sacrifice home loan pricing to turbocharge growth at the expense of profits, new chief executive Richard Fennell has promised shareholders, revealing that he is in the early stages of a strategic shift at the regional lender.

Mr Fennell, in his first interview since succeeding Marnie Baker as CEO in August, also told The Australian Financial Review the lender’s digital arm, Up, would raise interest rates for borrowers from December 1.