25% of ANZ branches have closed since 2020

ANZ’s move to close another 15 branches across the country means around a quarter of its retail network has vanished since COVID-19 hit at the start of last year.

ANZ has closed 146 branches since the start of 2020. Picture: NCA Newswire

ANZ is shuttering branches faster than any other major bank, confirming on Monday that another 15 will be closed by October - meaning ANZ’s retail footprint will have shrunk by around a quarter since the start of last year.

In a statement on Monday the Financial Sector Union said the bank was set to close the 15 branches – many in rural and regional areas – by October of this year, in a move affecting 54 staff.

It brings the number of locations closed since January of 2020 to 146 - a number that’s nearing the 186 branches shut down between 2015 and 2020.

Last week, ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott told the Standing Committee on Economics that the bank had 570 branches at the start of 2020.

Confirming the closures on Monday, an ANZ spokesman said the bank still had “approximately 400” branches around the country, meaning a quarter of the bank’s branches have vanished from the map in a little over a year.

In NSW, locations in Forster, Cooma, Ulladulla, Salamander Bay, Casino, Cowra, Cootamundra, Leeton and Kempsey will close.

In Victoria Bacchus Marsh and Lakes Entrance have been targeted for closure, alongside Wongan Hills, Bassendean, Baldivis and Beverley in WA.

The Bacchus Marsh branch will close earlier than the rest, on September 16, while Bassendean and Baldivis will close on June 9.

Finance Sector Union (FSU) National secretary Julia Angrisano accused ANZ of putting profits over people by closing the branches.

“But that’s not the view of the ANZ. The ANZ takes the cake as the worst performer when it comes to deserting communities around Australia,” Ms Angrisano said.

“This is a bank which lives up to the Banking Royal Commission’s description of banking as being driven by greed and short-term gain.”

She also said the remote locations of many of the locations would force customers to travel long distances to branches in other towns, and that many of the affected staff would not be offered other positions.

“If you live and work in a regional town, your opportunities for redeployment are virtually nil,” she said.

ANZ managing director of retail Katherine Bray confirmed the closures but said the bank would retain as many staff as possible, with a past employee care fund available for those who may fall into financial hardship if they are unable to be redeployed.

“We announced the closures to employees last week and we will seek to retain as many of them as we can, particularly with increased demands on other areas of the bank that could benefit from their skills and experience,” she said.

This round of closures is ANZ’s second of 2021, following a decision to close 27 branches in February.

Mr Elliott told the Standing Committee on Economics last week that it “might be the case” that ANZ had closed the highest proportion of branches out of the big four banks, but attributed it to “the astonishing, rapid rate of customer behaviour change.”

“Going to a bank branch is like going to the dentist. You know you have to do it but you don’t really want to do it. And the reality is now you don’t have to, because we have all these fantastic digital tools, we have home loans specialists that will come to your house,” he said.

“So that convenience, has meant through all of those tools, means we have seen branch traffic fall at an alarming rate, in fact the foot traffic in the average branch has been falling somewhere between 10 and 20 per cent per annum for a number of years.”

Ms Angrisano said pushing customers online is part of the business model of the major banks.

“Shutting branches in regional areas does not reflect the true needs of bank customers,” she said.

“They need to be able to transact the full range of banking and financial services in branches close to where they live.

“And we know the community is not ready for managing their finances online because one third of bank customers either don’t have a computer, do not have sufficient skills or are not interested in taking up online banking.”