In the early 2000s, traditional bank branches were closing across outer Melbourne. Ringwood East was one of them. Local traders watched their main street lose foot traffic. Older residents lost the staff who knew them by name. A piece of the neighbourhood quietly went missing.
A small group of community members refused to let it stand. They studied the Bendigo Bank’s community banking model — a franchise arrangement where a local board owns and operates a branch, runs it as a real business, and returns the profits to the community that banks there.
They raised the capital from their own neighbours. They opened the doors of Community Bank Ringwood East. And from the very first month, a clear rule applied: when this branch makes money, the people who live here are the ones who benefit.
We didn’t build a bank. We built a way to keep value in the place it was made.
How community banking works
MCEL operates two Community Bank branches — Ringwood East and Croydon — as a franchisee of Bendigo Bank. Customers get the full range of products and services they’d expect from any major bank: home loans, savings, business banking, insurance.
The difference is what happens with the surplus. After we pay our staff, our rent and our operating costs, the profits don’t leave the region. They’re returned to the community through grants, sponsorships and direct investment in local programs.
Since opening, we’ve channelled more than $4.2 million back into the Maroondah region. Every dollar of that has come from people choosing to bank locally.
What we’ve funded so far
Over twenty-two years, MCEL has supported community sport clubs, schools, mental health initiatives across Ringwood East, Croydon and surrounding suburbs. We’ve helped build foundations for health, education, wellbeing, programming, and essential community infrastructure.
Alongside community investment, we’re committed to strong governance, responsible growth and transparency. This means we can continue to support the community not just today, but for generations to come.
What’s next
MCEL wants to strengthen the places we live, work and belong to. By supporting local banking, our community continues to shape its own future — and the gateway to the Yarra Valley remains a region defined by the people who call it home.