While the closures of Bendigo Bank branches in Korumburra and Yarram have sparked protests and political intervention, the quiet upcoming shutdown of Welshpool's banking agency on October 6 has gone largely unreported, despite representing a 26-year history of community-driven financial services.

The Welshpool and District Advisory Group (WDAG) revealed Bendigo Bank is closing their agency along with 28 other small agency locations nationwide, ending banking services that began when the community secured federal funding to establish one of Victoria's first Rural Transaction Centres.

"This news has come as a great disappointment to us all," WDAG stated, noting they had successfully maintained banking services for over two decades after major banks abandoned the town.

While Bendigo's corporate arm is shuttering branches in Welshpool, Yarram (September 26) and Korumburra (August 29), citing "evolving customer preferences" and "reduction in business activity," the nearby Community Bank Toora and Foster continues thriving after 26 years, pumping $167,124 back into local organisations last financial year alone.

As Korumburra and Yarram customers scramble for alternatives – with Cafe Aga owner Alex Andrews reporting to the Yarram Bridge that he is seeking new providers and the Yarram Country Club facing expensive cash collection services – the Toora and Foster Community Bank has invested over $2.2 million into their communities since inception.

The community bank model, where locals own shares and profits return to the community, operates as a franchise partnership with Bendigo Bank. Locally, the Toora and Foster Community Bank support everything from the Tea Cosy Festival to Foster SES.

Meanwhile, Welshpool's building will continue as a Centrelink agency and library, but the loss of banking services after 26 years represents another blow to rural financial access. As corporate banks retreat from regional Australia, community-owned banks may offer an alternative, but only if communities can raise the startup capital and larger corporations remain willing to partner.