PHOTO: The closure of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia branch in Gilgandra came without warning. That shouldn’t happen again for the next three years.
After seeing 200 Commonwealth Bank of Australia branch closures, the major bank has extended their pause on further branch closures in regional Australia, but the gloomy insight into the future of banking in regional communities remains.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has extended their moratorium on branch closures in regional Australia until the end of 2026, but they may not look like what we once knew.
With closures off the table, in a statement CBA indicated that we can expect to see more communities moving towards ‘multi-channel branches’, where local face-to-face access closes at 1pm, with staff – and customers – diverted to online and phone services each afternoon.
While the extension makes no promise of what and where a local branch may be after 2026, it will offer more time for the community to adapt to alternatives away from the already dwindled services…