The Commonwealth Bank announced the closure of the WestAustraliaA large number of branches of the state's oldest bank.
Bank of the West will become a digital-only bank that will close all 60 branches by the end of the year, affecting 350 employees.
The act defended the move, saying that 97 percent of transactions were done online.
Scott Spitos, Personal Banking Manager at Bank of West, said: "As part of Bank of West's transformation to digital banking, we will no longer operate physical branches. ”
D**id Sharpe, founder of Global Financial Planning, said there was "no doubt" that cost played a big part in the decision, and that it didn't make sense to open a branch if the client didn't ask for it.
"Of course, there is a small group of people, particularly older Australians and people in regional areas, who need these branches and it will have a significant impact on them," he said. ”
Fifteen regional branches will be converted to Commonwealth Bank branches.
Employees will be offered other positions in the company, including a call center.
Jason Hall, national assistant secretary of the Financial Sector Alliance, called on the Bank to retain as many staff as possible.
"This is an outrageous decision made by Bank of Western to cut costs, become a digital bank, and completely abandon its customer base," he said. ”
A range of Western Bank's customers will be severely impacted, including the most vulnerable in our community. The hardest hit will be the elderly, Indigenous customers, people whose first language is not English, and others who do not understand computers.
Maintaining a branch network costs money. But there is no doubt that maintaining trust in a loyal customer base is an important principle, as these customers and the bank fees they pay have been at the heart of Bank of West's profitability for many years. ”
Bank bosses admit that closing banks may have been the last straw that crushed some customers.
"I want to keep every customer," Spitos said.
I absolutely respect some people, though, who may think that the brick-and-mortar experience is very important to them. ”
The closure will be rolled out in phases, starting with the closure of the least busy branches.
The exact timing will be finalized in the coming weeks.