Community bank yield nine per cent

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank said it paid out A$1.1 billion to owner of franchised Community Bank since developing the business model 15 years ago.

In a presentation yesterday it said the network of 297 branches earned $215 million last year, with $29 million paid to local owners of the franchises. The average return on equity for those franchises trading for more than five years is nine per cent.

Fifty-four per cent of franchises are paying dividends. The average dividend yield us 9.3 per cent.

The community banks also distributed $80 million to community projects, Bendigo said.

The bank put footings (loans and deposits) for the network at $23 billion, with average growth of 19 per cent a year over the last four years.