Banks should align for the benefit of regional customers
Commonwealth Bank, NAB, ANZ and Westpac. These big four banks have served Australia well in the banking and financial industry in Australia and abroad.
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Also in Australia's banking industry there are two major banks - the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and the Bank of Queensland.
These two retail banks have served their customers well with the "good, old-fashioned" style customer service.
Over the years, the Bendigo Bank has helped created community banks in rural and outer suburban areas where the big four withdrew from.
Maybe the time has come for the Bendigo Bank and the Bank of Queensland to strongly consider merging to form a new major banking conglomerate?
A merged Bendigo-Queensland would have the resources to grow much more strongly in Australia and it could make acquisitions internationally.
A merged Bendigo-Queensland Bank would give Australia's big four banks much stronger competition and it could give the Australian banking public more choices when it comes to choosing where to establish their bank accounts, where to invest and where to choose for their banking loans.
A merged Bendigo-Queensland Bank could still offer customers the good, old-fashioned service they are known for and it would have the resources to expand that kind of banking service around to other parts of Australia.
A merged Bendigo-Queensland Bank would be a much stronger player in Australia and it would have the resources to expand internationally, it would generate more financial export dollars for Australia.
A merged Bendigo-Queensland Bank would be a much more profitable banking corporation and Australia would benefit overall.
A merged Bendigo-Queensland Bank could be called the Bendigo, Adelaide and Queensland Bank (BAQ) or perhaps it could be called Australian bank where the Bendigo Bank, Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland could be it's subsidiary companies?
A merged Bendigo-Queensland Bank could have its headquarters in Bendigo, Melbourne or Brisbane.
If it could be based in Bendigo, it would further strengthen Bendigo as a rural financial centre and possibly create new local jobs.
If the Bendigo Bank and the Bank of Queensland did merge into a new Australian banking conglomerate, Australia would have five big banks instead of four, and that would be great for Australian banking customers.
Malcolm Webster, Boronia
Council must act now to fix Hargreaves Mall problems
It’s an absolute disgrace the the Hargreaves Street Mall is becoming “the place for ferals”.
And the Bendigo city council is doing absolutely nothing to rectify the problem.
Locals like myself are fed-up and people who venture into the area can’t believe what they see.
When is the problem going to be fixed?
Ralph Peters, Bendigo
Memo to our politicians: burning coal is not the answer
The Oxford Dictionary defines troglodyte as: 1. a person who lived in a cave, especially in ancient times; 2. a hermit; 3. a person who is regarded as being deliberately ignorant or old-fashioned.
I suggest we could add a fourth: a politician who holds aloft a lump of coal as a symbol for future energy policies.
Kevin Brown, Castlemaine
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you have something to get off your chest? Send your letters to the editor to addynews@fairfaxmedia.com.au, or PO Box 61, Bendigo 3552.
