Dale Webster, The Regional

Just when it seemed ANZ’s attempts to justify the closure of a regional NSW branch in defiance of a condition of the Suncorp acquisition deal not to close any regional sites for three years could not get any more farcical, the bank has upped the ante. In a letter to a customer complaining about the planned closure of the Katoomba branch next month, ANZ claimed that although it had triggered regional branch closure protocols (established as a direct result of two federal government inquiries into regional bank closures), the protocol was not about regional branches.

ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott made frequent mentions of “reputational risk” while giving evidence to the house standing committee investigating the big four banks in Canberra on Friday ... it is surprising that when asked about regional bank closures by commitee chairman Daniel Mulino he chose to withhold information about two branches in regional Australia that ANZ plans to close later this year.

Unable to turn their backs on disgraceful behaviour by the major banks over regional closures, a senate inquiry has lit a bomb under them. The pressure is now on the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones to accept all recommendations in full.

At a media event to release the latest Regional Movers Index data, Commonwealth Bank representative Paul Fowler and Regional Australia Institute chief executive Liz Ritchie were asked three times why the branch was closing the same day as the Sunshine Coast was being celebrated as a rapidly-growing centre ... In 2021, acting RAI CEO Kim Houghton put in a submission to a taskforce that had more bankers on it than MPs but there was nothing from Ms Ritchie during the recent senate inquiry ...

It may have taken 20 years but a Federal Government inquiry has finally made good on a warning that if the 'big four' banks did not improve their treatment of regional Australian customers, they would be stripped of the privilege to self-regulate. Many thought this day would never come but the most surprised must be the banks or they would have never behaved in the ways outlined in detail during a senate committee’s 15-month deep dive into the welfare and economic impacts of regional bank closures. 

Official recognition of banking as an essential service, the end of self-regulation of the banking industry and a pathway forward for the consideration of a new government bank are some of the key recommendations to come from a Senate inquiry into the impact of regional bank closures.

If there was ever a time to take a close look at the relationship Australia’s major banks have with the word “trust” it is now. After more than a year of hearings nationwide and an unprecedented 600-plus submissions, the Federal Senate Inquiry into Regional Bank Closures concludes and the committee will table its final report on May 24 (postponed from May 16. No reasons given).

After slashing NAB's regional branches by a third Ross McEwan is bailing before a senate inquiry into the closures reports. Miniscule savings at the cost of trashing the bank's reputation in a critical lending base. What will his legacy be?

Headlines around Australia last week screamed out about bank closures. They were triggered by the release of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s annual points of presence data that showed an 11 per cent fall in bank branches nationally in 12 months ... The media coverage of the data release last week only adds to the confusion.

The chief executive of the Australian Banking Association Anna Bligh did not read a single submission to the 2021-2022 Regional Banking Taskforce she was a member of. This astonishing disclosure came out under questioning during a hearing of the Senate inquiry into regional bank closures ... CBA's Matt Comyn was the first to come before the senators and except for dropping the information that CBA will be making its Bankwest brand an entirely digital service he might have snuck through without a mention here.