WARRACKNABEAL’S ANZ bank branch will close its doors in about 10 weeks.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
ANZ district manager Mark Genua said the branch would close on October 31.
He said customers had been notified and staff consulted. He said staff would be supported through the transition.
Mr Genua said Warracknabeal customers had increasingly chosen online options and ATMs as their main source of banking. He said it reflected a broader trend in the community as more services moved online.
“Of our customers who have Warracknabeal as their home branch, only 17 per cent of them currently use the branch as their main banking source, with more than 50 per cent of them preferring internet or mobile banking,” he said.
Mr Genua said customers had been informed about alternative banking options.
“We have written to our customers to let them know about this closure and that they can continue their banking through options such as Bank@Post, which is located at 107 Scott St – just 260 metres from the branch,” he said.
“Customers can also do their banking online and via the ANZ app on their mobile device. An ANZ ATM will be located in Warracknabeal, either at the current branch location or nearby.”
Mr Genua said the company consulted with Warracknabeal branch staff members.
“We are supporting them through this transition while making every effort to find them redeployment opportunities with ANZ,” he said.
Yarriambiack Shire mayor Graeme Massey said the closure was an inconvenience and the community would have to adjust.
Cr Massey said the community had suspicions the bank would close.
“It’s one of those things where we read the writing on the wall but don’t want to believe it. It started with cutting back hours then days,” he said.
“The rumours started over a year ago that it would close, but it still came as a shock that it did happen.”
Cr Massey said the town was fortunate to have a Commonwealth Bank, NAB and a Bendigo Bank. He said larger banks should look after country towns.
“I hoped the big banks would have a moral or ethical obligation to look after country towns. Not everyone is internet savvy or wants to use an ATM, but we have to realise that it’s a fact of life now,” he said. “We might not like it, but we have to adjust.”
The closure comes after other Wimmera towns also lost services, including the post office in Marnoo, the Commonwealth Bank in Kaniva, the Bank of Melbourne in Stawell and Ararat, the Brim pub, and Minyip petrol station.