Commonwealth, Westpac, ANZ and NAB refuse to rule out 2021 regional bank branch closures
Commonwealth, Westpac, ANZ and National banks have been part of regional Australia’s high streets for decades. But what branches are the Big Four planning to shut down this year?
AUSTRALIA’S big four banks have not ruled out further regional branch closures following a spate of shutdowns in recent weeks.
National Australia Bank quietly lifted a regional branch closure moratorium this year, shutting down six country branches including Cobden and Balmoral in western Victoria.
NAB retail executive Krissie Jones said the bank could not “make predictions about future branch closures”.
“In situations where a branch is being used too infrequently to justify keeping it open, we’ll work with customers and the community to find alternatives,” she said.
ANZ closed more than 90 branches nationwide last year and followed it with another raft of closures last week, including Torquay. Most of the ANZ branches axed last week were in suburban Melbourne and Sydney.
An ANZ spokesman did not rule out further closures in 2021 of regional outlets.
“Whenever we have to make a tough decision to close one of our branches, we notify customers and other members of the local community within about 48 hours of making that decision,” the ANZ spokesman said.
The Commonwealth Bank will close its branches in Finley in the Riverina and Rainbow in the Mallee within two months.
A Commonwealth Bank spokeswoman did not rule out further branch closures this calendar year.
“Our branches are important to us, now and in the future, and we believe our branches in regional and rural towns will continue to play an important role in delivering great service to our customers,” the spokeswoman said.
Westpac has followed a Big Four trend of ‘temporarily’ shutting branches as coronavirus restrictions roll on.
“Westpac Group regularly review our branch network, taking into consideration customer usage, location and proximity to other banking services,” a Westpac spokeswoman said. “Branches continue to remain an important service option, especially in areas that have high customer usage. Westpac Group currently hold the second largest branch network in Australia out of all the majors.”
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