The Regional Review - Issue 13

A Message

From Your CEO, Dave Heine

Starting the new financial year, we launched into our new business strategy. Our new ‘Capture the Flag’ strategy is an aggressive five-year plan to increase our profile within our existing footprint and launch into new areas through regional expansion. Our vision 'to be the most trusted relationship bank for all regional Australians' confirms our ongoing commitment to regional Australia, our local customers, and businesses.

Dear Members,

I am pleased to say that as an organisation,wehaveachieved some significant milestones over the past 6 months, both in supporting our Regional Communities and in achieving our business goals.

After a 2-year absence, we were once again able to facilitate the annual Community Partnership Events across our network. We are proud to announce that in 2021/2022 we again reached over $2 million in community donations. This funding has gone to a wide range of clubs, associations and organisations that share our understanding of the value of community. This is an important program for Regional Australia Bank and we are proud that we have been able to demonstrate our commitment to regional Australia in such a tangible way.

The 2022/23 financial year will bring a new set of challenges to both our business and our members. Rapidly increasing interest rates and inflation, combined with uncertain property prices and increasingly volatile weather conditions are expected to continue placing pressure on the lives of regional Australians. We remain confident that as a member owned organisation, that we have the capacity and the commitment to help manage any impact these conditions may have on our customers (and owners as members).

In closing, if the last six months’ milestones and opportunities are anything to go by, I am excited for what 2023 has in store. Regional Australians have been put to the test but have continually risen above. Now is the time for growth. I will continue to build Australia’s leading relationship bank as we champion Australia’s best kept secretRegional Australia.

I wish all our customers and the entire Regional Australia Bank team a safe Christmas and Happy New Year.

Regards, Dave Heine

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Community Initiatives in Focus

Regional Australia Bank supports a string of local events.

We say it often, but Regional Australia Bank is more than just a bank.Wearefocusedoneverything that makes regional Australia special and are driven to make a difference, build communities and create better places to live. One way we do this is through supporting initiatives that play a vital role in our communities.

'Doin it for Rural Aussie Kids' –Dubbo & Coonabarabran

‘Doin It for Rural Aussie Kids’ is an all-inclusive charity helping the next generation in rural communities throughout Australia. Donations and ongoing fundraising efforts are aimed to help these communities when they experience the harshness of the Australian country. They have recently joined our Community Partnership Program, we are proud to continue to deliver this program, which has this year reached another new milestone of more than $2 million in donations.

The toy drive aims to get 1000 Christmas Gifts to distribute to rural Aussie children and families in need this Christmas. Our Dubbo team with founder Jason Owen working together to help donate gifts for 'Doin it for Rural Aussie Kids' toy

drive. You can drop off new gifts into Regional Australia Bank's Dubbo and Coonabarabran branches. Our thanks go out to everyone who has already contributed to the toy drive and helped support our local communities.

Wildnets / GuulabaaPort Macquarie

Grand Opening Ceremony on Monday 19 September 2022 for the official launch of Wildnets. We're so excited to be partnering with such an amazing community project.

Our Regional Relationship Manager, Belinda Gaunt attended the launch with her family. Guulabaa 'Place of Koala' in the Cowarra State Forest is a place where locals and visitors can experience the beauty that surrounds us.

With 50% of all profits from Wild Nets going towards to the new wild koala breeding program @koalahospitalportmacquarie.

For a family fun weekend come and see the 'The Big Koala' or if you’re looking for a sense of adventure than unleash your wild self with Wildnets or enjoy a coffee at the Bunyah Local Aboriginal Lands Council mobile café.

There are lots of fun activities with giant bouncy netted rooms, tree houses, inflatable horses, suspension bridges, ball pits, slides, pods, giant inflatables and many other exciting features for all ages and abilities.

Regional Australia

Product in Focus

Regional Australia Bank launches BaaS strategy with SME software partnership

Regional Australia Bank has launched its new Banking as a Service (BaaS) strategy by partnering with small-medium business financial management platform, Thriday.

Banking as a service enables corporate businesses and fintechs to offer branded banking products to their customers and clients, and thanks to this partnership, Thriday can offer its customers a Thriday transactional account and Visa Debit card, powered by Regional Australia Bank.

Regional Australia Bank Chief Product Officer, Chris Stace, says he is excited to have Thriday – which, thanks to the partnership has become Australia’s only fully integrated business financial management solution – on board.

The ability to further support small-medium businesses was a fundamental reason that Thriday was chosen to launch Regional Australia Bank’s BaaS strategy.

Thriday gives small business owners end-toend control of their finances, from banking, payments, invoicing and expense management right through to tax and accounting – and the platform estimates it can save small-to-medium businesses up to six hours per week of time that would usually be spent on financial admin.

Toy Drive Volunteers

Photo credit: Rob Cleary From Seen Australia – Forestry Corporation

Photo credit: Rob Cleary From Seen Australia – Forestry Corporation

Photo credit: Rob Cleary From Seen Australia – Forestry Corporation

Flood Relief Program

Across NSW, we have once again experienced torrential rain over the last 6 months –and, consequently, many of the areas and communities we proudly serve have experienced flooding.

This, of course, isn’t the first time some of these communities have had to deal with the effects of the weather this year, and we understand that many of our Members have been impacted due to property damage or loss of income – or both.

The scale of that impact will differ from person to person, property to property and community to community. We know that many Members may not have flood protection as part of their home insurance, and they will now be self-funding the remediation and repair work on their homes and businesses themselves.

As a responsible partner and a steadfast supporter of our regional communities, Regional Australia Bank is constantly looking for ways we can offer practical support to

our Members, particularly when events such as this occur.

It’s essential for regional Australia that our communities remain in a position to thrive, and to that end, we will be reimbursing up to three months’ interest payments to any Member who has a loan with us and has been impacted by the floods.

By doing this, we’ll be able to give Members get immediate access to additional cash to help deal with the immediate aftermath of the flooding.

For any flood-affected Members who need access to finance, we will also be waiving the establishment fees for personal loans, waiving fees for replacement cards and waiving any break fees for term deposits.

To access this help, Members simply need to speak to a member of our Customer Service team, who’ll work with you to verify the impact of the flooding and access the service you need.

As an organisation whose heart lies in our regional communities, we are committed to helping our Members navigate these difficult times – and hope that these measures will contribute to your recovery.

Regional Australia Bank donates $2 million through CommunityPartnership

The Community Partnership Program is people powered - the more people that participate, the more donations local community organisations will continue to receive. It works by calculating a member’s average annual balance and Regional Australia Bank donates the equivalent of 0.75% of supporter accounts, and 0.40% of support accounts owned by the community partner, back to a chosen group each year.

Our members participate in the program knowing that they can help make an impact on their local community. It’s a simple reminder that they are part of something bigger than just being a customer of a bank, they are part of a movement empowering and enriching their regional community. We are proud to continue to deliver this program, which has this year reached another new milestone of more than $2 million in donations.

Regional Australia Bank teams up with DV Safe Phone to provide safe phones for victims of domestic violence

Regional Australia Bank has partnered with national not-for-profit charitable organisation DV Safe Phone to help get safe mobile phones

into the hands of people experiencing domestic violence.

The partnership will see DV Safe Phone collection boxes placed in every branch of Regional Australia Bank, and customers and the wider community are invited to donate their old mobile phones – which will be collected, repurposed and gifted to victims of domestic violence.

There are more than two million known victims of domestic violence in Australia, and DV Safe Phone, which was launched in 2019 and operates nationwide, aims to get a safe mobile phone into the hands of every person who needs one.

Phones are collected at each of Regional Australia Bank’s 36 branches, repurposed and gifted to those in need through partnerships with registered domestic violence and law enforcement agencies, safe houses and councillors – who can also help with safety plans, escape plans, accommodation, food and sometimes even funds.

The partnership with DV Safe Phone is just one of the 1600 partnerships that make up Regional Australia Bank’s Community Partnerships Program, which aims to support people in need right across Regional Australia.