Westpac ignores pleas to put a halt on closure of Carnamah branch while Federal Senate inquiry is ongoing

Westpac has ignored pleas to suspend its decision to shut down a Mid West branch next week while a Federal Senate inquiry into regional bank closures is under way. A spokesperson for the bank said the Westpac Carnamah branch was closing as planned on February 24. The Shire of Carnamah had urged Westpac to put that decision on ice during the Senate inquiry, a move which the Commonwealth Bank decided to make recently. “Our customers are using branches less, for fewer reasons, and choosing to use digital banking more often,” the Westpac spokesperson said. “In Carnamah, we are closing our branch and transitioning these services to Bank@Post at Carnamah Post Shop, only 41m from our current branch.” Carnamah Shire president Merle Isbister said Westpac should follow the Commonwealth’s example that it will not close any further branches and postpone planned branch closures during the inquiry. “It would be extremely disrespectful to rural and regional communities across the country for Westpac to continue with its planned branch closures whilst the Senate committee inquiry is ongoing,” she said. Federal senators Matt Canavan and Gerard Rennick welcomed the Commonwealth Bank’s decision and called on other banks to do the same. “Banks have a social responsibility to provide banking services to all Australians regardless of their location,” Senator Rennick said. “Not everyone has easy, reliable access to the Internet and need face-to-face banking.” The inquiry will examine the reasons behind and the impact of bank closures on regional communities. Since September last year, 92 bank branches have either closed or are slated for closure across Australia. According to the 2021 Regional Banking Taskforce, branch numbers in regional Australia dropped from 2500 to 1900 between June 2017 and June 2021. A survey in Carnamah showed the majority of residents used their branch weekly. Once Westpac closes, the nearest bank branch will be in Moora, 120km away.