‘The best ten dollars I ever spent’
It’s a memory forever implanted in Doug Cowlishaw’s head. He was working as a Constable in the divisional van with his partner Lionel Allemand, when Lionel asked him where he banked.
“I said, ‘The Commercial, like everybody else at Prahran’”.
Lionel asked him if he’d like to join the Police Co-Op and explained what it was, but Doug was initially very sceptical.
“I hesitated because he wanted $10 dollars from me and I didn’t know where the money was going to,” chuckles Doug. He recalls driving to the Police Association rooms in Melbourne’s Russell Street.
“Underneath the stairwell which went up to the offices, was a very small desk with a chair and a woman sitting on it… that was the Police Association Credit Co-Op. My initial thoughts were I’d never see my 10 bucks again, I thought it was for the Lionel Allemand lunch fund! But that $10 was for a share in the bank, and I’ve been with them ever since.”
The 71-year-old former Victoria Police Detective Inspector now credits that conversation he had with Lionel 52 years ago as financially changing his life.
“I am a life-long member and have done all my banking with BankVic. Over the years I’ve taken out car, house and home improvement loans. My wife and children also bank with them. I trust them which is very important for me.”
Trust and dependability are important to Doug, who’s spent his career at ‘the sharp end in policing,’ specialising in counter-terrorism intelligence, the use of DNA in investigations, handling and working with informants and major investigations. Doug believes that the organisation (and his money) is as safe as it can be.
“All the profits go back into the bank. One of the key things with BankVic is they’ve always been managed by their members. When I ring up, I know most of them and until recently, I knew the police members on their Board. I know where they are.”
Doug shares a measure of the trust he has.
“I hate having gold coins hanging around my pockets so I collect them and put them in a tin. I’ve taken the coins in to a branch every year for the last ten years, and each time I’ve got the amount wrong! They ring me up and say ‘look you’re down,’ and there was one time where I cheated myself out of $80! I leave the coins, they count it and let me know. It’s just the trust and confidence that’s been built up with BankVic all these years.”
Doug retired from Victoria Police in 2018 after 47 years’ service, and worked for the Department of Health. It was challenging, as he felt he’d lost the back-up he always knew was there when working for a police service. His long-term relationship with BankVic helped ease the transition.
“I had the perception that even though I was out of the job, I was still with the bank and that sort of replaced that feeling for me,” he says.
Doug speaks highly of the service he always gets.
“I always get treated like I am somebody. That is important, they’ll always treat you like you are somebody. I’ve always gotten good service.” He says generally police and emergency service people are conservative, especially with their money so BankVic “is a good fit because they’re a conservative financial institution”.
He recommends the bank to anyone in the policing and emergency services.
“If you want to maximise your money and take a few risks, go somewhere else. You’ll also be treated as a number. But if you join BankVic you’ll be treated as a name – they’re small enough to remain like that. They’ve been around for more than 50 years and to me it’s a brand and a place you can completely trust with your money.”
