Bendigo’s dreams of acquisition put to bed with new CEO appointment

Marnie Baker’s departure puts to bed acquisition hopes for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. Picture: Jane Dempster/The Australian

The departure of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank boss Marnie Baker could put to bed any hopes that the regional lender is about to take part in industry consolidation following speculation that an acquisition of a group like Judo Bank could be on its agenda.

The understanding is that Ms Baker was keen to embark on acquisitions, including a deal to buy Judo Bank.

But after making moves towards buying Suncorp Bank and missing out on the opportunity, she wanted to ensure there would be deal certainty before making any move, say sources.

Now that she has left, the future with respect to deal making is more up on the air.

Bendigo is under pressure to grow to compete with the major banks, and an acquisition of Judo would provide not only scale but a sizeable entry into the business lending market.

Judo was co-founded by former boss Joseph Healy in 2016 to service smaller business customers that major banks may overlook.

Bank of America has worked for Bendigo Bank as an adviser.

One challenge for any merger is Bendigo Bank’s structure, where profits are shared with communities, whereas BOQ has franchise branches.

Bendigo Bank has 307 community-owned branches and 2.5 million retail customers.