Regional Bank Taskforce says more needs to be done by big banks when closing regional branches

A final report handed down on September 30 said banks should improve communication with regional customers and ensure local councils were forewarned of any closures.

The Regional Banking Taskforce was established in October last year and included representatives from local government, Australia Post and the banks.

The report said there were 600 bank closures across country Australia in the four years to June 2021, a 23 per cent decline from 2500 branches to 1900. There was a 20 per cent national decline in ATMs since 2016.

The final report made seven recommendations, which included banks and Australia Post promoting Bank@Post services and maintaining access to cash, including fee-free ATMS in remote Indigenous areas.

Banks must provide extra support to vulnerable customers and help older Australians transition to online banking, the task force found.

It also included a recommendation that the Australian Banking Association (ABA) establish a protocol around regional branch closures, including impact assessments, by mid-2023.

"Assessments should provide clear reasons for the closure and the engagement that will occur with customers, local government and other stakeholders," the report said.

The federal government was also told to pump more money into regional telecommunications and launch a public review into how banking services are accessed, in partnership with the regulator.

For country towns, banks are more than just a business - they are a lifeline in floods and fires, vital for elderly and vulnerable people who rely on cash, and they keep everything from farms to footy clubs afloat.

A staggering 416 submissions were made to the Regional Banking Taskforce, hundreds describing the central role of banks in the bush and the sense of looming decline when they shut.

The major banks have attributed closures to declining foot traffic, a shift to digital services and an increasingly cashless economy.

But several submissions to the inquiry from farmers' groups, Legal Aid services and regional councils argued many country residents do not have reliable internet and mobile reception, with some still reliant on fax machines.

They described how many in rural areas are forced to travel hundreds of kilometres to manage their finances, particularly farmers who need face-to-face meetings with trusted bank managers to oversee their sizeable loans.

Vulnerable groups, like those living with disabilities, migrants and Indigenous people, may have low levels of digital literacy and accessibility, and there is often no public transport to take people to another town with a bank.

Gilgandra resident Heather Thiele, said the decline in services at the town's National bank in the last five years, including limiting the branch's opening hours to just three hours a day, five days a week had left her "frustrated and anxious" for the future of services.

While she said there was a service available to deposit or withdraw at the local post office, she said wait times had increased, and people sometimes need to do more than that.

"It's like a huge merry go round," she said in her submission.

"Many customers come from over 70 kilometres away to bank in Gilgandra and drive all the way to do banking, only to have the doors shut.

"I have seen elderly people outside the closed bank in tears and I also get frustrated when I drive into town and am unable to do what I need at the bank. The elderly still do a lot of their purchases in cash or cheque and the bank does not seem to respect this.

"I can usually work my way around these bank problems but can see the day when I may not be able to. If I am unable to get around to do the banking in person, my husband would not be able to cope with it."

The Commonwealth bank (CBA) closed its Molong branch in June 2021, the last face-to-face banking branch across the Cabonne local government area.

In their submission to the taskforce, Cabonne council said they had become aware of the closure three months prior, and was advised residents could access face-to-face banking services in Orange, which is a 30 minute drive.

The night the branch closed, the council said that contractors also removed the ATM, leaving the community with just one publicly available 24-hour ATM - however in a small win this decision was later reversed.

The council said that they were advised for banking to be viable in the town, branches relied heavily on business and home loans, particularly from the agricultural sector.

However the council pointed out in their submission almost 30 per cent of residents across the local government area were employed in the agriculture sector.

With natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic, they said there had been a downturn, but revealed in the 2021 financial year, the bank achieved a 20 per cent profit boost.

"Perhaps most disappointing of all, is the lack of respect offered to loyal regional banking customers," Mr Byrnes said.

"At a time where drought, mouse-plagues, floods, bushfires, and COVID-19 are crippling communities and small-businesses across Australia, banking profits are soaring."

The council also pointed out the closure of the bank as "deliberating" to the independence of the region's aged population, and a contributor to the downturn in local villages.

"Little assistance was provided by CBA to assist the older residents of the community - undoubtedly the CBA's most loyal customers - in their transition to online, phone banking or utilisation of banking services delivered by Australia Post," Mr Byrnes said in their submission.

"The alternative arrangements the bank have put in place are far from adequate and discriminate not only against older people, but community and charity groups who still deal with cash."