Last week, it was announced that the National Australia Bank (NAB) have will be closing their Biggenden Branch at 23 George Street on 27 July.
This closure joins over 550 branches closed since January 2020 by the big four banks.
Bank branch closures have occurred all over the Flynn electorate in communities such as Gladstone, Tannum Sands, Moura, Biloela, Theodore, Emerald, Springsure, Capella, Mundubbera, Gin Gin, Gayndah, Gracemere, Taroom, Wondai, Monto and Mount Morgan.
I believe it’s time for the big banks to put their money where their mouth is and stop treating our regional communities like second class citizens.
On many occasions, the big banks have advised customers to use online services or Australia Post.
While this may be viable for some people, I have serious concerns for our elderly who rely on these bank branches.
The banks need to stop leaving these communities in the lurch and expecting them to continue to support them.
Constituents in some communities have to drive hours to visit their nearest branch because of bank branch closures.
It is simply not good enough.
NAB’s actions are disappointing even more so considering it recorded a record interim cash profit of $4.07 billion.
We have also seen the recent announcement that Commonwealth Bank’s third-quarter net profit rose 10 per cent to $2.6 billion from the year earlier.
There are 47 community groups and 48 small businesses that are set to be affected by the NAB Biggenden branch closure.
I urge NAB to support the community and keep this branch open.
In February this year, the Australian Senate established an inquiry into regional bank branch closures, chaired by Senator Matthew Canavan, after unprecedented numbers of branches were being shut down around the country.
It’s incredibly disappointing that NAB didn’t follow the lead of other banks and commit to not shutting down any more branches while the Senate Inquiry is ongoing, and just shows its clear disregard for our regional communities.
The big banks need to be looking at the bigger impacts of their closures, and trying to find solutions to ensure that people still have the ability to not only transact, but open and close accounts, and obtain finance.
The Senate Inquiry into regional banking closures is due to report to the Senate in December.