Bendigo Bank cuts cost, time out of software development efforts

Bendigo Bank is in the process of “materially changing” its “technology development operating model”, with a digital onboarding experience declared as one of its first major outputs.

Managing director and CEO Richard Fennell said that changes to the bank’s technology function and capabilities kicked off last year, mostly under the productivity pillar of a two-year growth strategy.

“One of the real positives that we’ve been able to deliver over the last six months is a significant increase in productivity in the technology development space,” Fennell told the bank’s half-year results briefing.

“A really great example of that is the build of [a] consumer digital onboarding capability in just three months for about half a million dollars. We expected that to take a lot longer and to cost a lot more.”

The digital onboarding experience was launched at the start of October last year. In the region of 400 to 500 new sign-ups a week come through this experience.

Fennell said that fast-tracked development and launch is emblematic of what the bank wants to achieve.

“I’d like to say this is a foresight of what we’ll continue to see with a significant improvement in productivity, and that includes the use of AI tools in the development of new functionality and coding and the like, which is actually having a positive impact in our tech productivity space,” he said.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank tapped Google Cloud for AI services at the end of last year, with Gemini offered to all staff.

“We’re elevating our AI and automation program in partnership with Google, which continues to empower our people to self-drive productivity and process improvements,” Fennell said.

“Our entire workforce has access to the Google AI suite and we’re seeing organic people-led innovation outcomes.”

More broadly, Fennell said the bank is “in the process of materially changing our technology development operating model.”

“We’re seeing greater efficiency and productivity coming through that space,” he added.

In addition to faster development timeframes, the bank said it had freed up funds to pay for other works, including remediation of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) – an area that brought it under regulatory scrutiny at the end of last year.

Improved productivity also meant that the bank is no longer using up contingency funds associated with major projects, Fennell said.

“Historically, we haven’t necessarily been able to free up [that contingency] because we’ve had to use it on major projects,” he said.

Part of operating more simply and efficiently, however, means staff and contractor reductions.

Some 637 technology workers were impacted by job reductions announced in the technology division at the end of last year.

Fennell said there had been “a 48 percent reduction in contractor numbers” in the last six months of 2025.

“Our full-time equivalent employee numbers have [also] reduced by five percent on the prior corresponding period and four percent over the half,” he said.

“This is the result of several support function and technology division restructures.”

The next major step – and indeed the centrepiece of phase two of the productivity-focused effort – is the appointment of a new IT service provider to the organisation.

We’re in advanced negotiations with a new partnership in the technology space,” Fennell said.

“That’s going to be an important factor in our ability to continue to drive efficiency in our ongoing development. 

Bendigo Bank posted cash earnings of $256.4 million for the half-year ended 31 December, 2025.