Doonside locals fuming over Commonwealth Bank’s major move

Residents have been left furious after two of Australia’s major banks confirmed they would close their local branches without warning.

Every day, residents, small business owners and families walk into the Doonside Commonwealth Bank branch, which has been serving the Western Sydney community for their banking services for almost 60 years.

However, that will soon come to an end, because the doors will close on November 29.

Many say the nearest branches in Blacktown and Mount Druitt are too far away.

“For the elderly, the amount of walking required to reach the city center foreshore is horrendous,” one person told A Current Affair.

Another added: ‘I’m a bit angry that I have to go somewhere else as I’m used to this. It’s not far from home.’

Mr Bali claims the bank made its decision to close its branch ‘without any consultation’.

Speaking to NewsWire, Bali said the suburb is home to “approximately 10,000 people over the age of 60 or those with long-term chronic health conditions” who are now “forced to make at least a half-hour return journey to a major shopping center . to meet their banking needs’.

The Blacktown MP added that ‘local observations indicate that on average 60-80 people go to the bank per day or around 20,000 people carry out transactions per year’, suggesting the suburb still needs a bank branch.

“(The) local news agency has a sub-agency as a post office and the CBA expects this small business to be a sub-agency for banks generating 20,000 transactions,” he said.

Mr Bali added that a quarter of the suburb’s population is over 60 years old and it will take a lot of effort to force them to travel to the nearest branch 6km away.

Blacktown MP Stephen Bali said the closure is ‘destroying’ local businesses and the bank has turned its back on locals

The Commonwealth Bank has closed 354 local branches since 2018

Commonwealth Bank Sydney chief executive Irene Rowlands said customers can visit neighboring branches or use internet banking when the Doonside branch closes.

“Westpoint Blacktown, Mount Druitt and Seven Hills Shopping Center branches are popular banking centers for the Doonside community, and as a result we have invested $5.1 million to expand our services for customers in the area,” she said.

“These are larger branches, with more staff at each location, including home loan specialists, investment bankers and access to convenient self-service technology,” the statement said.

“We remain committed to maintaining the largest branch network in the country and would like to welcome our Doonside customers to our nearby branches.”

The closure is the latest in a long line of banks and ATMs closing en masse across the country.

Over the past five years, more than 1,600 branches, including 354 CBAs, and 6,084 ATMs have been closed nationwide.

The drastic reduction in ATM accounts resulted in 54 percent of the country’s total being closed.

ANZ in Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains, also closed in September, leaving residents with no choice but to travel to Bathurst or Penrith for the nearest nearest

Residents of Katoomba in the Blue Mountains had closed their last local bank when ANZ made the decision to close its only branch in the area in September, leaving the population of 80,000 with dwindling options.

For local resident Kim Grace, the decision to close the only remaining branch in the area is a ‘big middle finger to the entire Blue Mountains community’.

The nearest branch for Katoomba residents is in Bathurst, which takes almost 90 minutes by car, or in Penrith, which is almost two hours away.

But for those who can’t drive or take public transportation, the only other option is online banking, which isn’t as convenient for some older residents.

‘I’ve worked with my hands all my life. I can make anything,” says local resident Michael.

“(But) do you think I can operate that phone? I can’t even turn on the computer.’

A statement from ANZ confirmed that transactions at its branches nationally have ‘halved in half over the past five years’.

“Today, only one percent of all transactions are made over-the-counter and almost four million customers use the mobile banking app,” the statement said.

‘Since announcing the branch closure earlier this year, we have been working with our customers at the Katoomba branch to ensure they are well supported and aware of all the ways in which they can complete their banking needs, including using nearby branches, local ATMs, phone banking, or our team of community bankers, such as mobile lenders.

“In June 2024, ANZ confirmed that we will maintain our regional branch numbers across Australia for three years.”

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Commonwealth Bank for comment.