Bank of Queensland (BOQ) continues to expand its branch footprint through its unique Owner Managed (OM) model. The bank’s OM to Corporate branch mix grew to almost 80% during the last financial year.
112 of BOQ’s 154 branches nationwide are OM. This means they are operated by locals as small businesses focused on establishing long standing, deep relationships with customers to help them achieve their personal and financial aspirations.
Bank of Queensland Group Executive Retail Bank Martine Jager said, “Even during these increasingly digitised times, we know so many Australians still choose to visit their local branch. We understand there is a real need to keep branches open.
“At BOQ, we’re standing by the communities we operate in and serving the needs of our customers by growing our OM branch presence. Over the last financial year, we’ve seen a strong increase in our OM branches across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria with 11 conversions from Corporate to OM.”
Every BOQ OM is empowered to operate their branch and contribute to the community in ways they are passionate about. The strong presence of OM branches in regional and metropolitan areas has seen these branches make widespread contributions to local community groups across sport, arts, education and not-for-profit.
“With the impressive average tenure of our OMs being just over 10 years, we know the huge value of keeping our branches open, both for our people and communities. Our OM branches deliver a real sense of connectedness with their communities, with some customers having banked with their local branch for up to 40 years.
“We’re also very proud to be growing the future of the network with our BOQ OM Preparation Pathway Program which trains aspiring OMs to be successful small business owners. Since launching in 2021, we have celebrated 30 graduates,” Ms Jager said.
As part of growing BOQ’s branch footprint, seven new-style ‘Banking Relationship Centre’ style branches have been opened nationally with more scheduled to open, delivering customers dedicated support with their more complex banking needs including home lending, small business lending, personal lending, credit cards, and insurances.
