Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is betting on a pick-up in the margin lending market. It has launched an investment program for its subsidiary, Leveraged Equities.The bank's head of wealth markets, Alexandra Tullio, will be appointed to a new executive role at the head of Leveraged Equities. The business is hiring senior staff.According to Reserve Bank figures, total margin loan balances fell by 70 per cent between December 20007 and December 2012. In the March quarter, balances recorded their first growth since 2007.Bendigo and Adelaide Bank's chief executive, Mike Hirst, said there were positive signs for the business. It ran a successful end of financial year interest pre-payment campaign last month.Hirst said: "The better-than-budgeted result underlines the strong position Leveraged Equities has in the margin lending sector."We may be about to enter an upturn in the margin lending business cycle as we are seeing some signs of a return in investor risk appetite."