West Coast Council has expressed serious concern about reports* that Bendigo Bank has a home-loan lending “blacklist” that includes the major West Coast towns of Queenstown, Zeehan, Rosebery and Strahan.
West Coast Mayor Shane Pitt said that if true, the lending blacklist was a real slap in the face for the West Coast.
“Yesterday, it was reported that the Bendigo Bank has a “mining blacklist” on home loans in areas which include the West Coast”, Mayor Pitt said.
“For years the local community, including the West Coast Council, has faithfully supported the Bendigo Bank with their banking, as they have maintained the only working bank branch on the West Coast.
“It’s bad enough that the Bendigo Bank will in just over a week close this branch, leaving customers who want to do face to to face banking with a three-hour round trip to Burnie.
“To now find out that the Bendigo Bank has apparently been automatically rejecting loan proposals in our region on the basis that we are a largely mining community is a real slap in the face.”
Mayor Pitt said that the Council would be writing to Bendigo Bank seeking urgent information about whether the claims are correct.
“The irony that the Bendigo Bank – founded in the Bendigo goldfields – might be discriminating against mining communities is not lost on anyone”, the Mayor concluded.
*Referring to the following report: www.theregional.com.au/post/burning-down-the-house