Residents were left furious after two of Australia’s major banks confirmed they would close their local branch without warning.
Every day residents, small business owners and families walk into the Doonside Commonwealth Bank branch, which has been providing banking services to the western Sydney community for almost 60 years.
That will soon end, however, as the doors will close on November 29.
Many say the nearest branches in Blacktown and Mount Druitt are too far away.
“For older people, the walk to get to the downtown bank is excruciating,” one of them told A Current Affair.
Another added: “I’m a little upset that I have to go somewhere else because I’m used to this one.” It’s not far from home.
Doonside residents are protesting the sudden closure of their Commonwealth Bank branch, which will close its doors permanently on November 29.
Bali claims the bank made the decision to close its branch “without any consultation.”
Speaking to NewsWire, Bali said the suburb is home to “approximately 10,000 people over the age of 60 or people identified as having long-term chronic health problems” who are now “forced to make a return trip of at least half an hour to an important commercial center. to meet your banking needs.
The Blacktown MP added that “local observations indicate that an average of 60 to 80 people a day go to the bank or approximately 20,000 people transact a year”, indicating the suburb still needs a bank branch.
‘(The) local press agency has a sub-agency as a post office and the CBA expects this small business to be a sub-sub-agency of a bank that generates 20,000 transactions,’ he said.
Bali added that a quarter of the suburb’s population is over 60 years old and forcing them to travel to the next nearest branch, 6km away, will require a lot of effort.
Blacktown MP Stephen Bali said the closure was “destroying” local businesses and the bank had turned its back on locals.
Commonwealth Bank has closed 354 local branches since 2018
Commonwealth Bank Sydney region general manager Irene Rowlands said customers can visit neighboring branches or use internet banking when the Doonside branch closes.
“The Westpoint Blacktown, Mount Druitt and Seven Hills Shopping Center branches are popular banking hubs for the Doonside community and as a result we have invested $5.1 million to expand our services for customers in the area,” he said.
“These are larger branches, with more staff at each location, including mortgage loan specialists, merchant bankers and access to convenient self-service technology,” the statement read.
“We remain committed to maintaining the largest branch network in the country and warmly welcome our Doonside customers to our nearby branches.”
The closure is the latest in a long line of mass bank and ATM closures across the country.
More than 1,600 branches, including 354 CBA, and 6,084 ATMs have closed nationwide in the last five years.
The drastic reduction in ATM accounts led to the closure of 54 percent of the country’s total amount.
ANZ in Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains, also closed in September, leaving residents with no option but to travel to Bathurst or Penrith for the next closest.
Residents of Katoomba in the Blue Mountains closed their last local bank when ANZ made the decision to close its only branch in the area in September, leaving the population of 80,000 with dwindling options.
For local resident Kim Grace, the decision to close the area’s only remaining branch is a “big middle finger to the entire Blue Mountains community”.
The nearest branch for Katoomba residents is in Bathurst, which takes almost 90 minutes to drive to, or Penrith, which is almost two hours away by car.
But for those who can’t drive or take public transportation, the only other option is online banking, which isn’t as easy for some older residents.
‘I have spent my entire life working with my hands. “I can do anything,” said local resident Michael.
‘(But) do you think I can operate that phone? I can’t even turn on the computer.
A statement from ANZ confirmed that transactions at its branches nationwide “have halved over the past five years”.
“Today, only one percent of all transactions are carried out over the counter and almost four million customers use the mobile banking application,” the statement said.
‘Since we announced the closure of the branch earlier this year, we have been working with our Katoomba branch customers to ensure they are well supported and aware of all the ways they can complete their banking, including using from nearby branches, local ATMs, telephone banking, or our team of community bankers, as mobile lenders.
“In June 2024, ANZ confirmed we will maintain our regional branch numbers across Australia for three years.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Commonwealth Bank for comment.