‘The better big bank’.
When Bendigo and Adelaide Bank kicked off this marketing campaign several years ago, Banking Day’s reaction was: you have to be kidding.
Well, Bendigo have persisted with this line and Bendigo appear to be doing their level best to embed a bit of credibility among the rhetoric.
There are mutual banks that excel on trust rankings better than Bendigo but among banks that matter Bendigo Bank is the number one trusted bank by miles.
Even more trusted in Bendigo banking world at the moment has to be its Up brand.
Up is so frequently spoken of that it is wholly word of mouth that is driving new customer acquisition for Up.
The trouble with Bendigo and the trouble with Up is that it is beginning to look like things Up may be losing momentum and is at risk of losing its way.
This happens so often with bank takeovers. Bendigo may need to dig deep if they are to prove a long term value story in Up.
Almost unheralded, National Australia Bank at its recent half-year results revealed that its ubank brand has pulled off an absolute blinder, and pulled alongside Up in customer numbers.
At 800,000 customers each Up and ubank are level pegging, although Bendigo are likely to release more recent and more robust numbers in a few days time.
On Thursday afternoon Bendigo and Adelaide Bank will be holding an Investor Day, in Sydney.
Oddly, this session will not be webcast, with a replay made available soon after.