Commonwealth becomes third bank in three years to close in Port Fairy

The departure of bank branches from Port Fairy is set to continue with another of the Big Four announcing it would shut its doors.

The Port Fairy Commonwealth Bank branch is set to close. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Port Fairy will be left with just one bank branch after the Commonwealth Bank announced it would shut its doors on July 31.

It comes after the National Australia Bank pulled the pin from the seaside town in 2018 with ANZ following suit with its branch slated to close in August.

It will leave the Port Fairy and District Community Bank Branch of the Bendigo Bank asthe only remaining branch open in the town.

CBA regional general manager David Castle said the branch closure was due to a fall in customers.

Port Fairy’s ANZ branch is due to close in August. Picture: Nicole Cleary

“This branch has had a 46 per cent drop in transactions over the past five years,” he said.

Mr Castle said staff from Port Fairy would be offered redeployment opportunities.

“There are no job losses as a result of this decision,” he said.

“We’ve ensured customers who prefer over-the-counter service still have access to this option. For Port Fairy customers, we have a branch at Warrnambool.

“We’ve found that 21 per cent of customers from Port Fairy are already visiting this branch.

“We understand this change may affect the way our customers bank, however the team at Port Fairy branch are available until Friday, 30 July to help customers find the solutions that best suit their needs.”

Mr Castle said coronavirus pandemic has accelerated a shift to online banking options.

“Broadly, visitor numbers to our branches have fallen 22 per cent since last year, with some trading branches seeing customer visits fall by more than 50 per cent during this period,” he said.