Union fumes over further 'savage' Westpac branch closures across three states
A further five Westpac-owned bank branches in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are set to close their doors next month - the latest in a slew of closures in a move slammed by the union today.
Two Westpac branches in Sydney - Mortdale and Neutral Bay - will close on April 21, along with the St George branch on Queen Street in Brisbane's CBD and the Westpac-owned Bank of Melbourne branches at Brimbank and Point Cook in Victoria.
It comes just a month after Westpac announced plans to close 20 branches across the country.
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Westpac will close a further two branches in Sydney's Neutral Bay and Mortdale. AP
It has since agreed to a moratorium of eight of these closures until the end of the year amid a Senate inquiry into the impact of regional branch closures.
The Finance Sector Union (FSU) labelled the decision "savage", especially coming amid the Senate inquiry.
"We know bank customers are under financial stress as rising interest rates and the cost of living eat into their pay packets," FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said.
"At a time like this, many customers will want to be able to go to their local branch and seek help to manage their finances."
Westpac announced plans to close 20 bank branches across the country
It comes just weeks after Westpac agreed to a moratorium on its plans to shutter eight regional branches amid a Senate inquiry into the impact of regional branch closures
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Westpac told 9news.com.au it did not take the decision to close branches lightly.
"We consider a number of factors such as branch usage, customer demographics, location, and proximity to other transaction banking services, including other local branches and our Bank@Post service," a Westpac spokesperson said.
"We are witnessing a significant change to the way people are choosing to bank.
"Customers are using branches less, for fewer reasons, and choosing to use digital and virtual banking more often."
The bank says currently 96 per cent of banking transactions occur digitally in both regional and metropolitan areas.
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