Member for Mallee Anne Webster has welcomed the news Commonwealth Bank will uphold a moratorium on regional bank branch closures in the wake of a Senate Inquiry.

Dr Webster has called on Westpac and ANZ, who have recently announced they are closing their Robinvale branches, to do the same while the Inquiry continues.

“I applaud Commonwealth Bank for their stance, including their resolution to postpone the closure of two branches they had already announced,” Dr Webster said.

“It is a sign of good faith and I look forward to them continuing to constructively work with communities.

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

Last week, before the Senate Inquiry was announced, Dr Webster called on the Australian Banking Association to place a moratorium on regional bank closures until they implemented the recommendations of the 2022 Regional Banking Taskforce that they endorsed.

These included to review and strengthen the ABA’s Branch Closure Protocol and implement Branch Closure Impact assessments by the middle of this year as well as a suite of other changes designed to support regional customers.

The findings of the Inquiry are to be delivered by December 1.