Bendigo chair Jacqueline Hey
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank’s 2023 annual meeting was dominated by intense discussion about the devastating impact of online financial crime on retirees and the narrowing of their choices to avoid using digital channels.
Australia’s leading banks are continuing to “educate” customers on how to use digital channels, but the clear message sent to Bendigo’s board on Tuesday was that retiree shareholders want the bank to maintain access to traditional services for as long as the industry remains beset by threats from online scammers and fraudsters.
Macquarie Bank sparked a backlash from some customers last month when it announced it would stop accepting cash and cheque deposits by November 2024.
A raft of Bendigo shareholders posited questions to outgoing chair Jacqueline Hey about the bank’s commitment to maintaining cash services for customers, saying they were concerned the company was moving to a cashless business model.
Hey responded by saying Bendigo Bank had no plans to phase out cash across its branch network.
“This is a really big issue for our customers,” Hey told shareholders gathered at the Capitol Theatre in Bendigo.
“Bendigo has no plans to phase out cash across our branches.
“We have Australia’s fourth largest branch network – in fact we operate more branches per customer than any of the majors.
“Hopefully, I’ve alleviated those concerns (about access to cash) for shareholders.”??Other shareholders highlighted the logical disconnect between the bank encouraging customers to use online channels and the boom in online criminal activity.
Several shareholders asked Hey to explain digital terms such as “hyperlinks” that were referenced during the meeting – a strong indication they would be unlikely to fulfill their obligations to the bank if they signed up to use its online services.
In response to one shareholder’s concerns, chief executive Marnie Baker conceded that the online crime problem was a major challenge.
“We don’t see this going away,” she told the meeting.
Baker said the bank was “working hard” to educate customers about how to stay safe online and proactively detect unauthorised use of customer accounts.
She urged worried customers to participate in face-to-face education sessions held at Bendigo’s 430 branches across the country.
In a blow against the aspirations of real time payments advocates, Hey said the bank had introduced additional security controls earlier this year, including a measure that effectively delayed the processing of transactions identified as suspicious.
Five shareholders raised concerns about the bank’s commitment to providing access to cheques, saying they were worried they were also being phased out.
Hey said she could offer little comfort to cheque users after noting that the Federal Government had earmarked the phasing out of the payment method by no later than 2030.
In her final address to Bendigo shareholders as chair, Hey omitted any references to efforts by ANZ to acquire the banking operations of Suncorp Bank.
At the 2022 AGM Hey accused Suncorp’s board of avoiding engagement with her bank despite making several approaches to discuss a potential merger.
In August the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission rejected the ANZ-Suncorp merger application on the grounds that it would lessen competition.
In response to a question from a shareholder Hey confirmed that Bendigo was contributing evidence against ANZ’s appeal to the Australian Competition Tribunal.
“We’ve contributed all the way along whenever the ACCC has asked us and we will continue to do that,” Hey told the meeting.
Australian Shareholders’ Association representative Eric Pascoe probed the board on whether it was exploring ways to release A$683 million worth of franking credits parked on the company’s balance sheet.
Hey confirmed the board was examining options to unlock the franking credits.
“We will be looking at every possibility we can do because they’re obviously of value to shareholders,” she told the meeting.
“Unfortunately, we can’t just give them away.
“It is on our radar. It’s something we’re giving thought to.”