Tom Parry
JUST two weeks after publicly confirming it would close, Westpac Group has announced it will be postponing the closure of its Sale branch.
The announcement comes following the establishment of a Federal Senate inquiry into bank closures in regional Australia on Wednesday, February 8.
In a statement delivered on Thursday, February 16, a spokesperson for Westpac confirmed that Sale was one of eight Westpac and BankSA branches that would have their closures postponed.
“Westpac looks forward to working with the Senate References Committee Inquiry into regional banking services,” the spokesperson 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.”
Westpac was unable to confirm when the closure would be postponed to; the branch was initially scheduled to close on May 17.
Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester indicated his approval of the move in a statement on Friday.
“I certainly welcome the announcement by Westpac, particularly in relation to the Sale branch which was scheduled for closure, but there’s a lot more to be done and all the big four banks (Westpac, Commonwealth, NAB and ANZ) are culpable when it comes to abandoning regional communities,” Mr Chester said.
“Hopefully this means the banks are going to finally start listening to customers in regional areas and developing solutions which work for them.
“It’s lazy to just shut branches when more innovative solutions are available, which would mean the customers who need face-to-face banking services are treated with respect.”
Westpac’s latest announcement follows that of rival institution Commonwealth Bank (CBA), with a spokesperson delivering a similar statement on Monday, February 13.
“Following consideration of a request from the Senate Committee, CBA will not close any regional branches while the Inquiry is underway in 2023,” the spokesperson said.
“As an additional sign of good faith, while the Inquiry is underway in 2023, CBA will postpone the closure of two branches already announced.”
Those branches are located in Junee, New South Wales and Bright, Victoria.
“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,” the spokesperson added.
“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.”
In a Facebook post last Monday, Mr Chester congratulated Commonwealth Bank for “making the first move” in announcing a voluntary moratorium on branch closures.
Photo: Contributed
ANZ Bank, which has a branch on Raymond Street in Sale, has confirmed that it will also adhere to a moratorium on branch closures while the inquiry is underway.
“ANZ remains committed to engaging constructively with the committee, and will postpone announcing any further closures of regional branches until the conclusion of the inquiry in December this year,” an ANZ spokesperson said.
“We believe that this is important to allow the committee to complete its work.
“Branch closures announced in 2022 and now in the final stages will proceed, given we believe delaying these long-planned closures would be more disruptive to customers and staff.”
The National Australia Bank (NAB) has not committed to a moratorium on branch closures, but has confirmed that it 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,” NAB retail executive, Krissie Jones, said.
NAB publicly announced last week that it would be permanently closing its Maffra Agency on May 4.
Its Sale branch, also located on Raymond St, will remain open.
The Senate inquiry will travel to Sale on March 2 for a public hearing, which will allow customers and community groups a chance to have their say about the impact of branch closures.
A venue for the public hearing is yet to be confirmed.
The Senate has until December 1 to conduct its inquiry and submit a report.
