Regional Banking Investment Alliance (RBIA), Media Release, 17 November 2025

Plans announced by Westpac today are little more than “tokenistic and cosmetic” and do nothing to address the fundamental crisis facing bank branches in regional and remote communities, says the Regional Banking Investment Alliance (RBIA).

“The package announced by Westpac today is a tokenistic and cosmetic attempt to hide a very real issue for Australia’s regional and remote communities,” RBIA spokesman and CEO of Regional Australia Bank David Heine said.

“Extending the moratorium doesn’t fix anything, it just makes inequities that exist today worse and threatens the viability of other banks who have done the right thing.

“I can see why Westpac have done it. Extending the moratorium simply locks in their underinvestment in regional Australia.

“When is a moratorium not a moratorium? When you’ve already closed all your branches.

“This initiative will only further separate the profitable part of banking from the social contract of providing real branch services.”

By extending the moratorium, Westpac continues to enjoy the $112 million a year in savings it has made by closing almost 117 regional branches since 2017*, while giving little back to ensure regional and remote communities can access these essential services.

APRA data shows the major banks closed 19 regional bank branches between 30 June 2024 and 30 June 2025 before the moratorium was enacted, with Westpac down to only 186 branches across the vast area of regional Australia. This places Westpac’s balance sheet to regional branch ratio at $6 billion per branch compared to $0.1 billion for a smaller bank like Regional Australia Bank.

“Similarly, setting up shop with a couple of lenders in a few council chambers once a fortnight, won’t fix the problem or provide the services that people expect in a bank branch,” Mr Heine said.

“It is essential that branches provide face-to-face core retail services, including complex transactions, scams advice, changing a PIN and cash management services.

“These services aren’t possible under the model proposed by Westpac today.’

“Putting lenders in a council library is like a book club, not a branch.”

RBIA member, The Mutual Bank operates the only branch in town in Dungog, one of the communities Westpac has cited for its trial council program.

The $1.5 million community support program Westpac is promising is a little over 50 per cent of what Regional Australia Bank spends on similar programs annually in regional and remote towns – a bank around 3 per cent the size of Westpac.

The Regional Banking Investment Alliance includes a group of 24 regional banks and supporters, fighting for their local communities to ensure that face-to-face banking continues sustainably into the future.

The RBIA wants the government to introduce a cost sharing model to support regional bank branches which provide communities with essential services – at a total cost of $153 million a year, or 0.17 per cent of the total operating income of the major banks.

“The recipients of the cost sharing model would have only one characteristic – a commitment to invest in regional, rural and remote face-to-face banking services,” Mr Heine said.

“All banks will have an equal ability to be a recipient, as long as they exceed this basic regional branch investment threshold.

“This would ensure big banks whose regional branch investment falls short of the industry average, continue to support regional communities either directly though their own regional branch network, or via the cost sharing model.

“Importantly, calling this a tax is misleading.

“Our proposal will require no public funding. It simply ensures all banks to do their bit.

*Based on RBIA average costing of $959k per branch per year.

The RBIA is made up of 24 regional banks, including: Regional Australia Bank, The Capricornian, Traditional Credit Union, Broken Hill Bank, Northern Inland Credit Union, Cairns Bank, The Mutual Bank, Central Murray Bank, Bank Orange, Summerland Bank, Horizon Bank, Geelong Bank, Family First, Darling Downs Bank, Bank WAW, SWSbank, Hume Bank, Goulburn Murray Credit Union, Central West Credit Union, Queensland Country Bank, Coastline Bank, G&C Mutual Bank, Unity Bank and Beyond Bank. 

Early supporters include the Country Women’s Association of NSW, National Seniors Australia, Combined Pensioners & Superannuants Association and Regional HQ.

More information can be found at: https://rbialliance.com.au/.

Related story: Westpac extends regional branch moratorium, announces regional Community Banking Service pilot