After 31 years as a Bendigo Bank director including 13 as chairman, Mr Johanson stepped down on Tuesday and was replaced by Jacqueline Hey.

"My training was in law and economics and Jacqueline's is in technology, so it's a good segue in to the big issues that (the bank) will face in next five or 10 years," Mr Johanson said.

"We were the first board she joined after she retired as an executive. She has a great corporate background.

"With (the future of) technology, there's a whole lot of long-term issues that (will) need to be dealt with."

Mr Johnanson is confident he is leaving the bank and its board in good hands.

"(Leaving the role) has been more personal (rather) than just business," he said. "I have had a long involvement with it.

"But it is also a good time to move on. The organisation is in great shape with great leaders for the next generation."

Bendigo Bank manager director Marnie Baker said Mr Johanson would be missed.

"(I have worked with him) for my entire 30 years (at the bank) and have utmost respect and admiration for Robert and his skills,intellect, knowledge and the way he has carried himself as chair of the organisation," Ms Baker said.

"He bleeds Bendigo Bank and will always do right thing by customers."

Ms Baker said she was looking forward to Ms Hey taking on the role of chair.

"They're different people but equally as capable," Ms Baker said. "I have worked with (Jacqueline) since she came on to the board a few years ago and have a huge amount respect for her and her background.

"She brings a different experience given her technology and communications background but I am lucky to be holding this role under two different chairs with different experiences and approaches."

In the bank's annual report, Mr Johanson highlighted the customer trend of dealing with the bank more remotely.

"For some time, the mobile phone has been the most popular way to access banking information and services," he said. "But the amount of change over the next five and 10 years will be, I expect, more than at any other time.

"We are working with all of (our digital transformation partners) to produce a great range of ideas and locally adapted solutions.

"Community Banks and the communities in which they live and operate are as challenged by this process as are we. So we will all work together. Some relationships will not survive."

Mr Johanson said the development of technology combined with the average customer's trend of using banks more remotely meant some branches could face closure in years to come.

"It has led us to rationalise and change the way we conduct physical distribution," he said. "Very few people go into a branch to take out cash.

"You don't need to go into a branch to move money from one account to another. The reason why people still want to go in is to talk to someone about what can and can't be done.

"We find in community banks some local branches look more like community resource centres where people go for good wifi and coffee and get financial advice as well. These are all things we have to rethink about the way we deliver service and how people use it."

At the AGM on Tuesday, Mr Johanson and the Bendigo Bank board were ask some difficult questions by shareholders with a small group controlling the microphone for a short time.

He said the adversarial tone of some questions frustrated other shareholders.

"It's not the way meetings (usually go)," Mr Johanson said. "There were a lot of questions but that's not surprising after (a year) with the royal commission.

"It was annoying that a relatively small group kind of grabbed a hold of the proceedings. A lot of people got annoyed and left early.

"But as one (of the questioners) said it's the one chance of the year where people have the right to ask questions of the board and management in this way. So we're not resenting that they took (that opportunity)."

Ms Baker said she was not surprised by the strong questioning from some at the AGM.

"The same group you saw (there today) have been attending most bank's annual general meetings," she said.

"There was a lot of questions or commentary that was industry specific. So it wasn't a surprise that we had it at our AGM."

Mr Johanson used his final speech at the bank's annual general meeting to reiterate his points on issues relating to the banking royal commission.

He called the investigation well warranted but said banks needed to go beyond the findings of the commissioner.

"The crisis as it became did not just appear out of nowhere," he said.

"If we were to get to the underlying causes, if we were to have a chance of bringing about reforms to the industry to remove the conditions which not only allowed but even encouraged the misconduct - then we needed to go beyond the findings of the commissioner."

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