Marnie Baker gets set to revamp Bendigo and Adelaide Bank

Bendigo’s new boss has plans to shake up the bank, including a move to leverage digital to expand its appeal to millennials.

Bendigo Bank CEO Marnie Baker. Picture: David Geraghty/The Australian.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank plans to launch a new digital bank in an attempt to expand its customer reach into students and millennials.

In an interview with The Australian, new Bendigo boss Marnie Baker said the fully digital bank is one of several initiatives the bank will roll out to change perceptions about its operation.

She said a recent survey showed many people thought of the bank as a second tier institution which couldn’t meet all customer needs.

“This is obviously wrong and we have to change people’s perceptions she said.

Conversely, the bank rates highly in trust against the majors so Baker argues the negative reputation flowing from the banking royal commission represented an opportunity for Bendigo.

A 30-year veteran of the bank, Ms Baker took over from Mike Hirst as chief executive last week.

She has just taken a two-month break from day to day operations to give her time to work through changes she thinks are needed to improve the bank.

The digital bank is one of these but Bendigo is already a pioneer in many initiatives as part of what Baker sees as a commitment to put customers first.

After joining with three of the big four in an ACCC submission trying to get approval to jointly negotiate with Apple over its near-field communication controls, Bendigo now offers Apple Pay to customers who want it.

ANZ was the first big Australian bank to break ranks and offer Apple Pay which means paying a royalty to Apple.

Baker plans to revamp the structure of the bank in the next few weeks, including some management changes but she declined to comment on the details.

“Bendigo has always been very strong on diversity and inclusion,” she said.

The daughter of a Murray River dairy farmer, Baker is also a strong advocate of the bank’s community banking model which has recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Baker said one of her goals was to “change community perceptions, so they understand the bank operates a full service retail and business bank which provides full service levels to all customers”.

She acknowledges the banking industry has at times operated below community expectations.

“We are human and so we make mistakes but the key is we co-operate when we have to and I think on this score Bendigo has performed well,” she said.

Bendigo is responding to royal commission questions after its recent hearings and Baker noted the incidents highlighted happened a decade ago and in many respects the errors have been rectified.

“I get upset when I see any customer has not been treated well,” she added.