JOB losses at the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank may continue this financial year after the organisation shed 84 staff members in 2019/2020.
Chief financial officer Travis Crouch said redundancies were an ongoing process as the organisation worked through "right-sizing and right-shaping" its business.
Redundancy costs were $11.9 for the bank in 2018/19, $2.2 million in the first half and $9.7 million in the second half. Mr Crouch said these redundancies were spread right across the business.
He said the bank anticipated a $10 million ongoing reduction in salary costs. It had looked to re-invest this to support the business moving forwards, he said.
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Mr Crouch said he didn't expect redundancies to continue into 2019/2020 at the same rate as in the final half of the past financial year.
Redundancies in the final half of 2018/2019 reflected an organisational review, he said.
There was no target for redundancies into the future, rather they were an outcome of work to reshaping business, Mr Crouch said.
The Bendigo and Adelaide Bank's financial results released on Monday show the company's profits fell during 2018/2019.
But the organisation's customer base rose fourfold in that period to 1.7 million.
The bank's statutory net profits fell 13.3 per cent from the previous year to a total of $376.8 million.
Cash earnings were down 6.6 per cent, to $415.7 million.
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Bendigo and Adelaide Bank managing director Marnie Baker said there were good results in the report, including total income and net interest margins.
Ms Baker attributed the fall in profits to redundancies and remediation costs, and losses relating to the bank's Homesafe program, a result of declining property prices.
The bank's total income was steady at 1.6 billion. Its bad and doubtful debts were down 28.8 percent to $50.3 million.
Total lending grew by 1.1 per cent to $62.1 billion, stronger in the second half of the financial year at 3.6 per cent.
Ms Baker said there was no target for redundancies into the future.
"Redundancies also occur as a result of us reviewing our business and making calls which will continue, as [what] all businesses should be doing is reviewing their businesses and looking to the future of what are the skills that are required," she said.
"There's not a target at all, it's a result or a byproduct of transforming our business."
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Ms Baker said there was a lot of opportunity for the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, and its style of banking, in the light of the Royal Commission into banking misconduct.
She said the commission had been a positive for the organisation.
Several practices of the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank were commended in the Royal Commission's final report, including staff remuneration models.
Ms Baker said the bank had applied results of the commission where it believed it could learn from it.
She said there was an expectation of increased transparency around products and services, and their terms and conditions, and more plain English language being used to make sure consumers understood services.
Ms Baker said the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank was a beneficiary of the commission, as consumers aligned themselves with organisations of similar values.
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She said the trust people had in the bank meant there was significant opportunity as an organisation.
"We're seeing customers or consumers really thinking more about who they align themselves with, what financial institution they align themselves with," she said.
"Consumers are really showing us that they have real faith in us as an organisation."
Ms Baker said the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank was on a journey to reshaping its business to meet the changing needs of customers.
"We're focusing on the priority markets where people value a trusted and authentic relationship," Ms Baker said.
"We're accelerating the changes that we need to make in our organisation to ensure that we're relevant into the future. We're investing in areas that are going to improve the customer experience, that go to our relationship banking."
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Elspeth Kernebone
Accident brought me to journalism, but every day convinces me again that strong media is more important than ever. After a starting off as the sole reporter in a tiny NSW town, I’m loving the teeming metropolis that is Bendigo. Focussed on health, business and education. Got a tip? Email elspeth.kernebone@bendigoadvertiser.com.au.
Accident brought me to journalism, but every day convinces me again that strong media is more important than ever. After a starting off as the sole reporter in a tiny NSW town, I’m loving the teeming metropolis that is Bendigo. Focussed on health, business and education. Got a tip? Email elspeth.kernebone@bendigoadvertiser.com.au.
