Warning comes as Bankwest closes more than a dozen branches and slashes trading hours
Banks’ continuing closing of branches has reached “crisis proportions” as Commonwealth Bank closes 14 locations of its Bankwest unit and cuts trading hours at other locations, according to the Finance Sector Union.
The FSU released a statement Tuesday demanding a government inquiry into the impact of branch closures, especially in regional areas, The Australian reported.
Bankwest is shuttering 14 branches across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria in a move that will leave no remaining branches outside the CBA division’s home state of Western Australia. In that state, trading hours are being cut at 29 branches.
Bankwest said it was axing locations because of changing customer needs, with branches in those states averaging only 25 transactions per day.
Bankwest executive general manager Jason Chan told The Australian that the bank wanted to invest in areas where customers preferred to engage, including online and mortgage broker services.
The FSU said that 126 Bankwest employees were facing redundancy as a result of the closings, with jobs on the line including lending managers, home lenders, customer consultants and tellers. However, the bank said it intended to keep impacted employees, moving them to other roles within Bankwest and CBA.
All of the major banks are eyeing branch closures as more customers move to digital banking. Westpac said in July that it may shutter another 100 branches over 18 months as it merges its main brand with its subsidiary brands like St George. Under its plan, branches in areas with more than one Westpac business would merge, with one office closing to “co-locate” both brands under a single roof.
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Westpac told The Australian that it had already co-located 21 branches and was “reviewing opportunities” for about 100 more.
The FSU says that the rash of branch closures in recent years is leaving customers high and dry.
“The FSU has been concerned for years about the massive number of bank branches being closed, especially in regional areas. This trend has reached crisis proportions,” said Julia Angrisano, FSU national secretary. “The FSU believes banking is an essential service and that all Australians, no matter where they live, have the right to access banking services in the manner they choose.
Angrisano slammed CBA and Bankwest for the branch closures.
“The Commonwealth Bank and its subsidiary, Bankwest, are abandoning customers and communities across the east coast,” Angrisano told The Australian. “...It is yet another case of the CBA putting profits before people.”
In Western Australia, Bankwest is cutting some branch operating hours down from a five-day week to a two- to four-day week.
“While changes to the operating hours for 29 branches in WA is regrettable and will impact the working lives of FSU members, the union believes this is preferable to closing down those branches,” Angrisano told The Australian.
