Maclean Commonwealth Bank closure draws anger from local business

A bank says a drop in transactions prompted it to close its branch but a local business claims the organisation’s own rules killed it off.

A Maclean business owner says the Commonwealth Bank has not taken the interests of locals into account as it closes its branch in the main street of town.

The bank will close the River Street branch on November 19.

It comes three years after the NAB closed its branch just down the road.

Maclean business owner Endessa Schrader, who now runs shop Happy Creations three doors down from the bank, said it was disappointing to see them go.

“I’ve been banking with them for around 25 years,” she said.

“And instantly I thought what am I going to do?

“Where do we bank the cash?”

Endessa Schrader, who has banked with the Commonwealth Bank in Maclean for 25 years, is upset the bank is closing its branch.

She was told by the bank that the post office would be able to handle the transactions, which Ms Schrader said wasn’t a good solution.

“Look how busy the post office is, they’re going to be flooded,” she said.

“So then I’m thinking which other bank do I go with?”

Ms Schrader said she felt for the many elderly clients who still used to the bank for help, which would not be available as much from the post office.

She said the bank had told her transactions were down, but pointed to their own policy as one of the reasons.

The Maclean branch of the Commonwealth Bank will close in November.

“They told us we have to bank our business cash out the front in the teller, you’re not allowed to go to the tellers,” she said.

“So they’ve done this to themselves, they wanted it to happen.”

Ms Schrader said the fact that the Yamba branch would stay open while Maclean was closed indicated to her the bank was more interested in the tourist trade than their locals.

Commonwealth Bank regional general manager Norm Swift said the bank had written to customers and displayed a sign on the branch confirming the closure.

The Maclean branch of the Commonwealth Bank will close in November.

“Following a recent review, we made the difficult decision to permanently close our Maclean branch,” he said.

“This branch has had a 43 per cent drop in transactions over the five years before the coronavirus pandemic.”

Mr Swift said staff from the Maclean branch would be offered redeployment, including roles supporting customers over the phone and online, or other comparable roles where it suited them.

“We recognise some senior customers prefer to do their banking face-to-face and this is one of the reasons why CBA is proud to maintain the largest branch network in the country,” he said.

“For customers who prefer face-to-face options, Bank@Post is also available down the road at the Maclean Australia Post office for personal and business banking transactions.

“We’ve recently renewed this service until 2032, so customers can continue to make withdrawals, deposits and bill payments including passbooks during normal business hours.”