Omeo: Bendigo Bank will close agency on March 31 next year

Omeo residents have been told the news they’ve been dreading for six months: their only bank is shutting up shop. Here’s why.

Omeo and surrounding towns will be without a face-to-face banking service again from March 29 next year after Bendigo Bank confirmed the closure of its agency on Monday.

The service that East Gippsland Shire was prepared to subsidise for a further 12 months for $30,000 has been in limbo for six months.

Bendigo Bank blamed, in part, a “consistently low number of transactions over time” for the decision to walk away from the service it opened after the town’s Commonwealth and Westpac banks closed.

There will be no face-to-face banking service between Bright and Bairnsdale when Bendigo Bank shuts its Omeo agency next year. Picture: Zoe Phillips

“This has been a difficult decision and one that has not been made lightly,” a Bendigo Bank spokeswoman said.

“But unfortunately, the accelerating decline of in-branch transactions means it is no longer viable to keep the agency open.”

“We understand the closure of the Omeo agency will impact how some customers conduct their banking and there are a range of options available.”

Omeo businessman Rod O’Connell.

Omeo businessman Rod O’Connell said two years of Covid lockdowns in Victoria would be the major reason for the low transactions, in taking aim at the bank for the closure.

“They’ve made no effort to come up here and sell their products,” he said.

“They’ve had no profile whatsoever, which they said they would do. Where is their social responsibility to the small communities they say they support?

“Many businesses moved across to Bendigo to support this agency. I’ve had numerous people, who are older, secretaries and treasurers of local groups and clubs who also switched over, unsure what they’re going to do now.”

Bendigo Bank will leave Omeo after next year’s Mountain Calf Sales. Picture: Zoe Phillips

The agency closure will take place after next year’s Mountain Calf Sales held at Omeo, Benambra and Ensay.

Benambra-based councillor Sonia Buckley said it would be a major setback for the high country.

“There will be elderly residents who will be disadvantaged and I’m not quite sure what the solution is to be able to help address the fact they won’t have access to banking,” she said.

“It is also counter-productive from a council perspective because it has just invested $8 million dollars in starting the mountain bike trails.

“It is also very negative for businesses not having a bank.”