Many towns are facing the closure of their last bank as shuttering spree continues
Banks are continuing to close local branches across Australia at an alarming rate, with more than 1,600 branches shuttered since 2017 as financial institutions increasingly lean on their online systems.
In the last year alone, 309 branches closed, and Westpac plans to shutter branches in Campbelltown, Moree, Port Douglas, Gisbourne and other locations in the coming months, according to a report by NCA Newswire.
ATMs are also vanishing at an alarming pace, with less than half the number of cash machines in Australian cities and towns as there was six years ago. There are currently 6,412 ATMs in Australia. In 2017, there were 13,814, NCA Newswire reported.
Amid this news, Westpac has announced its intention to close another 23 branches across the country, drawing fierce criticism from the Financial Sector Union.
The closures mean several towns – including Coober Pedy, Kapunda, Tailem Bend and Carnamah – will lose their last bank, FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano told news.com.au.
“This is the most appalling decimation of a branch network by a bank which is not on the verge of abandoning its social contract with the community,” Angrisano said.
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More than 1,000 branches have been shuttered in the nation’s major cities, and 500 have been closed across NSW over the past six years, NCA Newswire reported. Remote Australia has seen its bank branches decrease by nearly a third, with only 102 branches left in those areas.
Australians living in the outer regions have seen 248 branches axed, leaving only 569 to service the country’s vast rural areas.
“We need the federal government to step in and stop the banks from deserting regional Australia,” Angrisano said. “Banks can’t be trusted to do the right thing by regional communities because when considering whether to close branches, they only consider their massive profits and the bonuses of senior executives. They don’t care about bank staff and the communities which will be impacted by their decisions to shut branch doors.”
