It is said that the reason why dozens of national Australia Banks are due to close in the coming months in Australia is that people are using online banking, and so it is no longer economical to have branches open. According to the NAB website, "With more customers choosing to bank online, over the phone, or by video, and because fewer customers are using branches to do their banking, we've made the difficult decision to close some of our branches,"
One would think that we should be getting chook raffles going to help poor NAB. But here is the "nab," the bank's profits have been soaring, to $7.7 billion, up 8.8 per cent. As I see it, bank closures will in general force people to use online banking, and thus the horse is put before the cart in the NAB argument. If the branches being open was such a burden, we would have seen a fall, not an increase in profits. Surely regional branches could remain open with minimal staff?
The end game of the bank closures is but one more step, as with the elimination of cash, towards Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). My brother's younger son, at anuniversity in Adelaide, trains at the university gym, which had a ban on cash during Covid, as they thought bank notes spread disease. That ban still continues, as with public transport, which is another sample of how things are going, with businesses aiding in the elimination of cash. But as the Optus outage showed, too bad when the IT systems crash, and crash they will.
"Dozens of National Australia Bank (NAB) branches are slated to close in the coming months across the country.
About 36 branches across Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, ACT and NSW have been listed on the NAB website as either closing or closed.
The bank said on its website the closures were due to customers choosing to bank online rather than in-person.
"With more customers choosing to bank online, over the phone, or by video, and because fewer customers are using branches to do their banking, we've made the difficult decision to close some of our branches," the website said.
It comes as the bank recorded a strong lift in its cash profit to $7.7 billion, up 8.8 per cent.
Data released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) last year shows 400 bank branches were closed across the country in the last 12 months to June 30.
In NSW, affected branches include Balmain, Broadway, Gilgandra, Gosford, Gundagai, Kyogle, Lake Cargelligo, Lithgow, Oberon, Scone, Temora, Warren, Wellington and Woolgoolga.
Eight towns in Queensland will see branches close, including Bribie Island, Browns Plains, Caneland Central, Cleveland, Inglewood, Mitchell, Pittsworth and Runaway Bay.
There are nine in Victoria closing in Bright, Emerald, Kilmore, Morwell, Mt Waverley, Ocean Grove, Strath Village, Tatura and Whittlesea.
Branches in Corrigin, Innaloo, Maddington and Waroona will close in Western Australia.
Each branch listed has a PDF sheet attached on the NAB website explaining the nearest alternative branch and nearest post office.
An ongoing Senate inquiry into bank closures in regional Australia has shone a spotlight on the issue and led to a commitment from the Commonwealth Bank to keep all of its branches open until the end of 2026."