Westpac, one of Australia’s ‘Big Four’ banks, is set to close 22 branches across the country as customers continue to move to digital banking.
The decision comes days after the Royal Commission final report was published which found widespread misconduct in the Australian banking sector.
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Westpac branch closure: Details
In the latest round of closures, the bank will shutter nine branches in New South Wales, eight in Victoria, three in Queensland, and one each in South Australia and Western Australia.
Closure of these branches, which are located in metropolitan areas, is expected affect around 76 staff.
In a statement, Westpac spokesperson said: “We are continually reviewing our services to ensure they reflect how our customers are choosing to bank, now and in the future.
“In the past 12 months, less than two per cent of transactions were through our branch network, as an increasing number of customers enjoy the convenience of our online and mobile banking services.”
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By GlobalDataThe closures of the branches were determined by the individual location, usage and their proximity to other services, reported sbs.com.au.
Last year, the bank closed 13 branches.
Branch banking is on continuous slide in Australia as increasingly large percentage of customers opting for mobile and digital banking.
According to Roy Morgan figures, in the six months to October 2018, 4.73 million Australians visited a bank branch, a fall of 27.2% compared to the same period in 2014.
In the 2014 six-month period, around 6.5 million customers visited their local branches, au.finance.yahoo.com reported citing Roy Morgan data.
