ELMORE'S Community Bank has turned 10.
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The bank is owned and operated by Lockmore Financial Services - a community company which also runs banks in Rochester and Lockington.
Senior branch manager Tracie Kyne said it had been a memorable 10 years.
"Up until the time the bank opened the four big banks had pulled out of Elmore," she said.
"(The banks) had decided they didn't want to be (operating in Elmore) anymore which really leaves a community at a loss.
"Without banking facilities the community members go to another town to do their banking and (eventually) they start doing their shopping there.
"(The bank) keeps people in the town."
Ms Kyne said the Rochester, Elmore and Lockington community banks had given back about $1 million to the community over 10 years.
"It's $1 million that they wouldn't have seen from anywhere else which has helped lots of community groups," she said.
Ms Kyne said the Elmore bank has supported the Elmore Medical Practice, Elmore Field Days, the discovery centre and the local preschool and schools.
She praised the work of the bank's employees and said the staff played an important role in making the bank "a force to be reckoned with".
"(The staff) are local members, too," she said.
"We have been able to provide local people with local jobs and keep them in the town.
"They are an integral part of the success we have made."
Chairwoman Louise Ross said the success of the bank would not have been possible without support from the community.
"Since the day we opened the doors of our first community bank branch in Elmore we have been committed to the future prosperity of our community," she said.
"Ten years on and our commitment to supporting community projects and rewarding shareholders for their commitment has only become stronger.
"This month we celebrate a significant achievement for which the board, staff and community should be extremely proud."