It’s a kind of homecoming in a way for Ged Smith as he takes up the role of chief executive at the Goulburn Murray Credit Union, but not in the way his great-grandfather did many years ago.
Although Mr Smith has not lived in the region prior to taking charge of the GMCU, his great-grandfather was born and lived in Tongala in the 1800s before he literally got on his bike and rode to central-western New South Wales.
“He and one of his mates got on a push bike and rode to (live) where my parents now live in the middle of New South Wales, a place called Nyngan,” Mr Smith said.
“So he used to ride back (to Tongala) on his push bike twice a year. It's actually eight hours drive from here. So I can't imagine how long it took him each time.”
Mr Smith chose to drive when he moved from Sydney to Shepparton recently, joining a significant proportion of the population which has moved from cities to the regions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The idea of being in a bit of open space after being locked down in a city, which people are no stranger to out here, the lifestyle and the experience in the space is certainly something that I'm really enjoying,” he said.
With three decades’ experience in a variety of roles at Teachers Mutual Bank, Mr Smith said the GMCU’s community-based structure was what attracted him to the job.
“I've worked for 30 years in a member-based organisation, so helping people and putting them in their best financial position has always been something that I've really enjoyed,” he said.
The GMCU has 10 branches across the region, from Echuca to Kilmore, in a financial sector that is increasingly moving online and seeing physical branches close.
There’s even a federal parliamentary inquiry investigating bank branch closures in regional Australia, but Mr Smith said his organisation was taking a balanced approach to changing trends.
“GMCU is very well established in the region and really enjoying the fact that they've got 10 branches to service members,” he said.
“We’ll continue on in that process with our footprint. We will actually be spending more money in the digital aspects to cater for the people who now like to do all of their banking online, and we're certainly trying to provide a good service with our branches being open in the regions that we have.“
At a time when rising inflation and interest rates are squeezing household budgets, Mr Smith said the GMCU wanted to work with customers before they were in difficulty.
“The thing we're recommending to all of our members is to come in and have a financial health check at any of our branches across the region,” he said.
“Talk to people, have a conversation, let us help you through this period.”