The ANZ Bank is to close its Temora branch.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Three employees will be affected when the branch closes its doors at 2pm on May 16.
Temora Mayor Rick Firman said the decision – which the council was told of via email – was “somewhat surprising”.
“Temora Shire has always been an affluent shire, having several banks, including the ‘big four’ and a credit union over a long period time,” Mr Firman told The Daily Advertiser.
“We can be all proud that this has been the case, and we realise that sometimes, nothing lasts forever.
“I find it interesting to note, ANZ Bank’s full year ended cash profit (to September 30, 2017) was $6.9 billion. It could be interpreted by some, that profit seems to come before people.”
Mr Firman said he had spoken with the ANZ’s district manager about the closure.
He said the conversation was “professional and courteous”, but fruitless in having the decision reversed.
“All of us are aware that there seems to be more and more people using internet banking, along with mobile banking apps and so on,” Mr Firman said.
“However, there are many who also don’t use these types of facilities and they must be considered.”
Mr Firman said he had expressed particular concern, not only about the ANZ staff members who would be losing their jobs, but also for the customers – particularly seniors – who had relied on the over-the-counter branch services.
He said council would be holding the bank to assurances that staff would be “looked after”.
“Of our customers who have Temora as their home branch, only 13 per cent of them currently use the branch, with 66 per cent of them preferring internet or mobile banking,” ANZ’s general manager for NSW and ACT, Amanda Heath-Ogden said.
“And over-the-counter transactions have fallen about 30 per cent at the branch over the past four years.
“Customers have been changing the way they do their banking in recent years, with more of them using online options and ATMs rather than visiting our branches.
“We are consulting the staff members who currently work at the branch and supporting them through this transition while making every effort to find them redeployment opportunities with ANZ.
“Over the next few months we will be working closely with our customers, including business customers, to help make the transition as smooth as possible.”
In August 2016, Junee fought unsuccessfully against the closure of its ANZ branch.
At the time, residents were told they could travel to Temora or Cootamundra as an alternative.
During the fight to save the branch, Junee Shire Council’s general manager James Davis said the closure “can only be described as a city-based decision for shareholder profits”.
Talking about the Junee closure, an ANZ spokesperson said the move was a tough call, but came after just 23 per cent of the branch's customers were found to regularly doing their banking in person, while about 56 per cent used online services.