The outlet in the foyer of Berrigan Council’s chambers began trading at 9am on Monday.

The move follows NAB shutting its Berrigan branch in July, leaving the district of 1000 without a bank.

Amaroo Aged Care general manager Andrea O’Neill said it had meant weekly trips to either Finley (23km away) or Cobram (40km) for depositing cheques and petty cash transactions.

She was one of nine members on the Berrigan community banking steering committee formed after public meetings held in the lead-up to the NAB closure.

“It’s a really good news story (the opening), because it’s not easy to set up a bank,” Mrs O’Neill said.

“We investigated lots of leads and we were very lucky to come into contact with Chris Noack from the Coleambally community Bendigo Bank branch.

“Also kudos to the council, it’s not their normal go but seeing it would be of benefit to Berrigan and district they were more than happy to help however they could, hence the agency has opened in the council chambers.”

Mr Noack said he was thrilled at the response to the agency and is optimistic about the potential for deposits and loans based on coming appointments.

“I’m very confident, people here seem to be very, very supportive,” he said.

“My diary is filling up, so I’m going to be very busy over coming weeks.”

Mr Noack said as income grew to cover costs of the agency there was the possibility a stand-alone branch may be built and profits being reinvested in the community.

The agency will be open 9am to 4pm on weekdays, compared to NAB’s hours of 11.30am to 2pm. 

Five council staff have been trained to carry out banking tasks.

Berrigan mayor Matt Hannan partook in the opening which was attended by councillor and Berrigan resident Bernard Curtin.

A Bendigo Bank sign on the exterior of the council building was unveiled and a cake cut to mark the occasion.