One of Australia’s big four banks has announced the closure of five of its branches across the country next year.
NAB confirmed its branches in Teggeranong in ACT, Emerald in Greater Melbourne, Balmain in Sydney, Scone in NSW and the Gold Coast‘s Runaway Bay will all be closed on March 7.
NAB retail executive Krissie Jones said the decision to close the stores was due to more Aussies choosing to bank online than in person.
The bank alerted the Financial Sector Union (FSU) of the news last week, who claim the decision ‘fails to take account of community concern about bank closures’.
FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said the decision is ‘a betrayal of the community and staff in these areas’.
NAB confirmed the five branches across NSW, ACT, Queensland and Victoria will all be closed on March 7 (stock image)
Ms Angrisano slammed the announcement just before Christmas as a ‘disgrace’ arguing the closures will hit older Aussies and businesses the hardest.
‘After delivering an annual profit of $7.7 billion, NAB is still using branch closures to cut costs and boost profits,’ she said in a statement on Wednesday
‘The bank could easily invest in these communities who rely on branches to meet their banking needs instead of shut them down.
‘NAB needs to wake up to the real needs of customers, save the jobs of bank workers and keep these branches open.’
Ms Jones highlighted that no jobs will be lost in the closures, with NAB employees instead being transferred to other roles.
‘While we understand some people will be disappointed, this decision was made after looking closely at the number of customers using these branches and the increased use of digital banking in the area,’ she said in a statement.
‘Just as people are using online government services to complete their tax or a Medicare claim, locals in these areas are increasingly choosing to bank digitally because it’s often more convenient.’
The National Secretary of the Financial Sector Union said the closures are a ”a betrayal of the community and staff in these areas’ (pictured, NAB in Scone set to be closed)
Those who will have their branch shut down and need to bank in person have been urged to explore using Australia Post’s banking services for no added fee.
A report from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) released in October revealed 424 banks and 718 ATMs had shut in the year prior to June.
Regional Australia has been hit especially hard during closures with 122 of those branches coming from rural areas.
Just over a third of all regional banks have been shut since 2017 about 37 per cent have been closed nationally, according to APRA
The move from all of the ‘big four’ towards online banking has also resulted in about 60 per cent less ATMs across Australia since 2017, with fewer than 6,000 still operating.