Westpac pauses regional bank closures
Westpac’s Robinvale Branch will remain open for now after the bank paused its regional closure program while it engages with an ongoing Senate Inquiry.
Federal Member for Mallee Anne Webster successfully advocated for the pause, which comes after continued pressure on the entire banking sector to halt regional closures.
“This is great news for the people of Robinvale who were faced with losing their Westpac branch,” Dr Webster said.
“Regional communities need these services and to have them taken away comes at a great cost to those people who rely on them.
“The Commonwealth Bank has already done the right thing and I am glad Westpac saw sense and followed suit.”
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 first hearing of the Senate Inquiry into Regional and Rural bank closures will be held in Sale, Victoria on March 2.
The Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee will be requesting that both Westpac and the National Australia Bank appear at the public hearing.
The findings of the Inquiry are to be delivered by December 1.
Submissions to the inquiry are open until March 31 2023.
Further information, including how to make a submission, can be found on the Rural and Regional
Affairs Committee website here:
