Yahoo Finance ANZ responds as customers fume over another branch closure: 'Disgraceful behaviour'
Hundreds of people have signed a petition begging the bank to reconsider the closure.
ANZ is closing another bank branch and customers will soon have to travel far and wide to do simple over-the-counter requests. Banks across Australia have been shuttering hundreds of locations because customers prefer to do their banking needs online.
While that's good for city dwellers who might have a few branches nearby, people in rural and regional Australia have told Yahoo Finance it's life-changing when their branch shuts its doors. ANZ customers in the NSW Blue Mountains have joined the growing list of people affected by this transition to digital banking.
The Katoomba branch has been earmarked for closure on October 23 this year, but one resident has started a petition begging the bank to reconsider.
Are you affected by bank branch closures? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com
"We live in Mount Victoria, and if the Katoomba branch closes, we face a 1.5-hour drive either east or west to reach the nearest ANZ branch," petition starter Kim Grace wrote.
"This is not just an inconvenience; it's an outrageous disregard for customers from a bank that reaps significant profits."
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She said the bank's decision to close this branch shows a "lack of care or concern for customers" who might be elderly, lacking in transport or on low incomes.
"It's disgraceful behaviour from what should be a community-focused bank...We cannot stand by while our community is disregarded in such a manner," Grace added.
There have been 287 ANZ branch closures from 2018 to 2023.
ANZ responds to the outrage
The bank has responded to the hundreds of people who have signed the petition so far.
It said it would try its best to ensure all customers affected by the closure will be set up for the digital transition by the time the branch closes.
"Australians are adopting digital methods as their preferred way to bank, with around 99 per cent of ANZ customer transactions conducted digitally or via an ATM," ANZ district manager Rohini Agnihotri said.
"We are working closely with our customers to ensure they are well supported and aware of all the ways they can complete their banking.
"We also have a team of community-based bankers, such as mobile lenders, who meet with our customers to discuss their banking needs at a location that best suits them."
Last year, the bank's CEO, Shayne Elliot, hit back at people complaining about branches closing.
“I don’t mean to diminish the feedback, but a lot of people bemoan the fact that branches are closing but they don’t actually use them,’’ Elliott said at a hearing of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics.
“And even when we do provide alternative solutions, the usage is extraordinarily low because people actually do like the convenience of being able to do things digitally.”
What are banks doing to protect rural Aussies?
The big four banks committed to leaving regional branches until an inquiry into regional closures ended.
ANZ and NAB have not extended a commitment to keeping regional banks open.
Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) have announced moratoriums on branch closures until at least the end of 2027 and 2026 respectively.
“We have deliberately chosen to maintain the largest branch and ATM network in the country and are actively working with community leaders across regional Australia to refine how we better support local residents and businesses," a CBA spokesperson told Yahoo Finance.
But CBA also owns Bankwest, which has moved to close all branches and become a solely digital bank.
Australia's fifth largest bank, Macquarie Bank, has announced it will phase cash and cheques out from 2024, scrapping over-the-counter cash transactions.
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