Hadfield Commonwealth Bank branch to close this month
A bank branch which has had a bustling shopping strip grow around it is set to close. Traders say if the head office knew how important it was to the community, they would keep it open.
North West
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Traders and elderly visitors to Hadfield’s West St shopping strip are fighting a decision from the Commonwealth Bank to shut its local branch on March 15.
The bank will leave its ATMs functioning at the site.
Multiple protests were held in the past two weeks at the branch demanding it stay open.
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West Street Hadfield traders association president Tony Di Salvatore said elderly customers relied on the bank and removing it would impact the small businesses on the strip.
“(Elderly shoppers) come down to for their pensions and have a chat and visit the businesses here,” he said.
Commonwealth Bank spokeswoman Milana Pokrajac said the decision to shut the branch was made after a 35 per cent decline in transactions over the past five years.
She said people could still complete transactions at a nearby Australia Post branch.
“Our branch staff are on hand to help familiarise customers with all the existing banking options available,” she said.
But the post office is not wheelchair accessible, while certain transactions at Australia Post also carry additional charges.
The next Commonwealth Bank branch is in Glenroy, 2.4km away.
Wills federal Labor MP Peter Khalil backed the community’s fight and wrote to the bank’s chief executive Matt Comyn urging a rethink of the closure.
He said it would be a disservice to loyal Hadfield customers.
Mr Di Salvatore said people just wanted to be heard by the bank and to have a meeting with decision makers so they could understand the impact the closure would have.
“Hopefully by us demonstrating (our reasons) they could change their mind,” he said.
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