CBA to shut down all 60 Bankwest branches

Bankwest will close its 60 branches and could shed around 350 jobs by the end of the year.

The bank, owned by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), has announced that it is transitioning into a wholly digital banking service.

The move will result in the closure of 45 Bankwest branches by October 2024. The completion of this transition will result in another 15 regional Bankwest locations becoming CBA branches by the end of 2024.

Bankwest Executive General Manager Jason Chan said he recognised “the change would be challenging for some customers” but said 97 per cent of all Bankwest transactions were now completed digitally and fewer than two per cent of customers visited a branch regularly.

“I understand this will be difficult news for some of our customers and Bankwest is introducing a range of support measures to help our customers who are regular branch users carefully through this transition,” he said.

“It’s critical we prioritise investment for the majority of our customers who expect leading digital and broker banking services, and rarely use branches, but we have a clear focus on the needs of our regular branch users at this time.”

The Finance Sector Union of Australia on Thursday (7 March) branded the decision an outrage on its social media pages.

“(In closing) its entire branch network, it is completely abandoning staff and customers in WA,” the statement declared.

Union President Wendy Streets pointed out that the bank made in excess of $10 billion annually and accused the bank of letting down regional and remote customers.

“Once you get out of cities, connectivity is a real issue, so people can often not even, even if they've got the equipment and they know how to do (online banking), which in lots of cases they don’t, the actual connectivity is an issue,” Ms Streets told media.

“So, you know, we’ve heard stories through the banking inquiry into the closure of regional and remote branches of people having to do their banking at midnight and 1am.”

Bank says branch costs not justified

CBA acquired its subsidiary, WA’s oldest bank, in 2008. Bankwest has no physical footprint outside the state, having closed all east coast outlets by early 2023.

As well as branch closures, ATM withdrawals have also dropped. They fell from 77.9 million in December 2008 to 29.7 million in June 2023, although the average amount taken out increased from $180 to $290.

The Big Four banks have ruled out going cashless.

News agency Reuters reported that 500 CBA group roles in technology, operations, and customer service will be redirected to Western Australia.

A statement from the Bankwest added that every employee impacted by the closure would be offered “a new career opportunity”.

In justifying the move, Mr Chan said falling patronage by its 550,000 customers no longer justified the cost of keeping open the branches dotted around the state. 

He said branches were handling an average of just 30 over-the-counter transactions a day with the regional centres only processing 15.

He added that the bank had reinforced its “strong relationships with its critical broker community”.

The move, he claimed, would result in its broker offering being bolstered, with further investment opportunities for the development of the tools, services, and support available to brokers.

The Bankwest regional branches set to close are Bunbury Forum, Busselton, Manjimup, Margaret River, Albany, Katanning, Esperance, Kalgoorlie, Merredin, Moora, Narrogin, Northam, Geraldton, Broome, Karratha, Kununurra and Port Hedland.

Bridgetown, Collie, Dunsborough, Pemberton, Denmark, Kojonup, Mount Barker, Corrigin, Dalwallinu, Jurien Bay, Kondinin, Narembeen, Lake Grace and Newman will be converted to CBA branches.

The branch closure news came as WA defied a declining national loan trend.

The ABS on Thursday (7 March) said the number of loans issued for the purchase and construction of new homes fell by 4.2 per cent in the month of January 2024 and remains at its lowest level since 2008.

Housing Industry Association Chief Economist Tim Reardon said Western Australia, on the other hand, is continuing to show signs that it is out of sync with the rest of the economy.

“Home lending in Western Australia is up by 23.2 per cent compared to the previous year.

“Strong income growth, employment growth and relatively more affordable homes are offsetting the adverse impact of the rise in the cash rate,” Mr Reardon said.

As Bankwest wrestled with its reputation in the media, Roy Morgan’s trust rankings released Thursday identified Bendigo Bank as the most trusted bank in Australia.

The findings contained in Roy Morgan’s latest quarterly update allows consumers to describe in their own words why they trust or distrust a brand, using data and insights from more than 60,000 Australians.