Westpac: Planned bank closures in Sale and Robinvale postponed

Wellington Shire mayor Ian Bye willing to appear at regional banks closure probe if needed.

The mayor of the region chosen to host the first hearing of the Senate inquiry into bush bank closures “will be there in a heartbeat” to argue against more shutting.

Wellington Shire’s Ian Bye said he was awaiting notification whether he would attend the public hearing in Sale on March 2.

But he would plead with the big four banks to maintain a presence in large regional centres at a minimum if called on.

Wellington Shire mayor Ian Bye. PICTURE: ZOE PHILLIPS

“You can understand closures taking place in little country towns where the demographics have changed,” Cr Bye said.

“They once had little farms, lots of people, but now (farms) are big conglomerates and that’s what has changed.

“But there are services that regional Victoria still needs day-to-day and banking is one.

“If they want any representative from local government, we will be there in a heartbeat.”

Westpac has postponed a planned closure of its Sale branch following the instigation of the inquiry.

NAB, ANZ and Commonwealth have branches in Sale with nearby Maffra to lose its NAB branch.

Bendigo Bank has a branch in Sale with community banks in Maffra and Heyfield.

The parliamentary committee responsible for launching the inquiry has requested Westpac and NAB appear in Sale.

Westpac has postponed its regional bank closures announced this month.

Westpac has also postponed another planned closure in Robinvale, but earlier announcements of closures in NSW, Queensland and South Australia are going ahead.

“Westpac will postpone eight regional branch closures that were announced in February 2023,” a Westpac spokesman said.

“No further decisions on regional closures will be made while we engage with the inquiry.”

The Commonwealth has also put on hold closures in Junee and Bright, but NAB and ANZ are proceeding with a swathe of closures despite the inquiry getting underway.

The first public hearing of the rural and regional bank closures inquiry will be held in Sale where Darren Chester is the MP.

Sale is in the federal electorate of Gippsland, with its MP Darren Chester voicing his concerns about bank closures in parliament.

“Closing branches is a lazy option and the banks should work with us to develop solutions that work for small businesses and the more vulnerable members of our community,” he said.

The Senate inquiry will report back on December 1.

Mallee MP Anne Webster welcomed the reprieve for Robinvale.

“Regional communities need these services and to have them taken away comes at a great cost to those people who rely on them,” she said.

“The Commonwealth Bank has already done the right thing and I am glad Westpac saw sense and followed suit.”

But Robinvale is losing its ANZ bank despite the inquiry getting underway.

NAB CLOSURES GOING AHEAD

NAB branch closures in Maffra, Alexandra and Geelong will proceed despite a parliamentary inquiry being launched into regional banks shutting.

The Senate Committee that instigated the inquiry last week also requested a moratorium on closures until its work was completed in December.

But, in a statement, NAB retail executive Krissie Jones said it “would be continuing our branch reshaping process during the committee’s deliberations in 2023, which will include closures, consolidations and new investments to meet our customers’ needs”.

NAB plans to close branches in Maffra, Alexandra and Geelong. Picture: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“NAB will work constructively with the Senate Committee inquiry,” she said.

“Our customers now have banking technology at their fingertips, through their device and more than 93 per cent of customer transactions now take place online.

“We acknowledge that big change is not always easy and reshaping our branch network sometimes requires difficult decisions.

“These decisions are made with the community and our customers in mind while also taking into account a broad range of factors like the number of customers visiting our lower traffic branches, our ability to staff our branches and how we ensure a consistent level of customer service in person and online.”

.@CommBank has decided not to close @Junee_Shire’s only bank whilst the Senate Inquiry into regional bank closures is undertaken.

A great result but the job isn’t done yet. I will keep fighting to ensure our smaller communities maintain or retain adequate bank services. pic.twitter.com/iOdjFv30GL

— Michael McCormack (@M_McCormackMP) February 13, 2023

The Maffra and Alexandra branch closures will take place on May 4 and the Belmont branch in Geelong will shut earlier on March 30.

Westpac has also been contacted for comment on its plans in the wake of the inquiry being instigated.

There will be some overlap on the terms of reference with those of the Regional Banking Taskforce that concluded last year.

Among the taskforce’s recommendations were banks publishing branch closure impact assessments from next year, Australia Post devising a solution for cash float and deposit needs of businesses and community groups, and the creation of “fee-free” accounts for customers left feeling vulnerable by a closure.

The Australian Banking Association said a moratorium on bank branch closures was a “commercial decision for each bank”.

“The ABA will engage as appropriate with any requests from the Senate Committee,” a spokeswoman said.

“The ABA and member banks are already working to implement the seven recommendations of the Regional Banking Taskforce by mid-2023.”    

EARLIER COVERAGE

The Commonwealth Bank is the first of the big four banks to postpone regional branch closures following the launch of a parliamentary inquiry into the impact of shutting them.

Junee and Bright CBA branches were among 34 closures nationwide earmarked to take place in coming months.

However, those branches will have a reprieve while the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee inquiry is underway this year.

It will be the first inquiry of its kind held in 19 years, with the committee to report back on December 1.

The Weekly Times contacted NAB, Westpac and ANZ about whether they would also be putting closures on hold, as requested by the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee after announcing the inquiry.

The Commonwealth Bank has postpone planned regional bank closures.

The CBA said: “We continue to welcome constructive engagement with government, industry and communities – an approach demonstrated by our recent work with all members of the Regional Banking Taskforce.”

Junee Shire general manager James Davis.

Junee Shire has led the charge against bank closures in regional areas by securing an initial reprieve from the CBA for a planned closure in December.

“A third of the Australian population lives in regional NSW and they have been removing banks at too fast a rate to allow people to adapt to change,” general manager James Davis said.

“Given their massive profits, particularly the Commonwealth Bank, we think closing branches in rural Australia is not appropriate.”

Mallee MP Anne Webster, who last week pushed for a moratorium on closures, said the CBA’s response was a “sign of good faith”.

“The other big banks should follow their lead as they work towards better outcomes for regional communities,” she said.

In her electorate, Westpac this month announced the Robinvale branch would close following the decision by the ANZ to also shut in the town.

Hume Bank chief executive Stephen Capello and staff members, Clare Rowland, left, and Hollie Clare at Holbrook where it is opening three days per week initially. Picture: Supplied

Meanwhile, the Hume Bank, which had its origins in Albury in the mid 1950s, will open in Holbrook following the closure of the town’s only bank last week.

“For us establishing a branch at Holbrook, a significant agricultural hub, is about social equity and access to financial services,” chairman Michael Gobel said.

“Too often the big banks forget that it is not enough to be able to access banking online. “There are transactions and advice, such as farmers wanting to buy more land or machinery, where the customer prefers face-to-face.

“They also assume that everyone can access banking digitally, but in many rural areas there are issues with broadband access or digital literacy.”

HOW THE BIG FOUR BANKS HAVE RESPONDED

THE COMMONWEALTH BANK

“Following consideration of a request from the Senate Committee, CBA will not close any regional branches while the inquiry is underway in 2023.

“As an additional sign of good faith, while the inquiry is underway in 2023, CBA will postpone the closure of two branches already announced.

“We continue to welcome constructive engagement with government, industry and communities – an approach demonstrated by our recent work with all members of the Regional Banking Taskforce.

“CBA looks forward to assisting the inquiry, and continuing to engage with our customers and communities, as we collectively respond to the digitisation of the economy and banking services.”

ANZ

“ANZ is considering the matters raised in the Senate Inquiry’s terms of reference and will engage constructively with the inquiry.”

WESTPAC

“Westpac looks forward to working with the Senate References Committee Inquiry into regional banking services,’” a spokesman said.

“Westpac will postpone eight regional branch closures that were announced in February 2023.

“No further decisions on regional closures will be made while we engage with the inquiry.

“We will, however, be continuing with our publicly announced branch co-location program, where we bring two branches and customer service teams together under one roof.

“These co-located branches allow us to invest and stay in communities and have been well received by customers in more than 30 locations.”

NAB

“Over the last few years, we’ve seen the single largest transformation in banking in Australia’s history as more of us choose to bank digitally,” NAB retail executive Krissie Jones said.

“Our customers now have banking technology at their fingertips, through their device and more than 93 per cent of customer transactions now take place online.

“We acknowledge that big change is not always easy and reshaping our branch network sometimes requires difficult decisions.

“These decisions are made with the community and our customers in mind while also taking into account a broad range of factors like the number of customers visiting our lower traffic branches, our ability to staff our branches and how we ensure a consistent level of customer service in person and online.

“That’s why over the last three years we’ve invested more than $70 million to upgrade and enhance our physical presence at dozens of locations across regional and rural Australia.

“Where we make the difficult decision to close a branch in a regional location, we will ensure our customers have access to Bank@Post through our 10-year partnership with Australia Post so they can choose to bank in-person. Bank@Post provides a network of more than 3500 locations in regional Australia where people can choose to do their banking in person.

“Importantly, there are no job losses for our people – our colleagues are offered alternative roles within the bank.

NAB will work constructively with the Senate Committee Inquiry. We will be continuing our branch reshaping process during the Committee’s deliberations in 2023, which will include closures, consolidations and new investments to meet our customers’ needs.”