25 per cent decline in the number of branches in regional and remote Australia, which has had a significant economic effect on the regions. According to the national secretary of the Finance Sector Union, Julia Angrisano, banks are “the lifeblood” of those towns and their closures are creating an “economic domino effect”.
Therefore, the federal government of Australia announced a taskforce, which is appointed to assess its impact on local communities. The taskforce will be co-chaired by assistant treasurer Michael Sukkar and Senator Perin Davey. Senior representatives of some of the major lenders in the country, including the big four banks, will also be a part of the efforts, together with local government associations and peak bodies like the Australian Banking Association.
Announcing the plans on Friday (22 October), the minister for regional communities Bridget McKenzie said: “Bank branch closures in the regions also affect the liveability of towns, and so I am pleased to announce this taskforce will be looking at how we can keep banking services in rural Australia.”
The move follows the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s (APRA) annual listing of banking services, which was published on Wednesday, revealing that more than 100 bank branches in regional and rural areas of the Trans-Tasman had closed over the past year.
According to Angrisano, the impact of bank closures are far greater for regional communities, where individuals have lower levels of digital literacy and limited access to transport. She compared this with branch closures in cities “where you can go a couple kilometres up the road to the next branch. You don’t have the same option when a closure is in regional areas.”
She pointed out that as a result of branch closures locals are inclined to go into town to carry out their banking activities, during which they stop at local businesses to eat and shop. “It’s because the banks close their doors first that other businesses don’t make it,” Angrisano added.
