National Australia Bank (NAB), one of the nation’s largest and most profitable banks, is closing its Mullumbimby branch on June 18.
A NAB spokesperson told The Echo, ‘There will be no job losses as part of this change, and our branch team have all been offered other roles across the bank.
They said in a statement, ‘more and more our customers are choosing to do their banking online, over the phone or by video confer ence….. it’s important we continue to adapt with them.’
Bank@Post option
The closure notice directs NAB customers to the Mullum Post Office, which offers Bank@Post.
‘You can withdraw cash, deposit cash and cheques and check your account using a PIN enabled card’, the bank says.
The bank described it as a ‘difficult decision’ to close the branch, located at 68 Burringbar Street.
NAB is the only big bank not pausing the closure of regional banks in the midst of a federal government inquiry into the matter.
Nearly 600 submissions have been received on the Bank Closures in Regional Australia Inquiry, according to www.aph.gov.au.
The Senate granted an extension to table its report for May 16, 2024.
The inquiry will consider, ‘the economic and welfare impacts of bank closures on customers and regional communities; the effect of bank closures or the removal of face-to-face cash services on access to cash; and the effectiveness of government banking statistics capturing and reporting regional service levels’.
Only bank closing regional branches
The Echo asked NAB, ‘why isn’t NAB pausing closing regional banks in the midst of an inquiry, given the other three big banks have done this?’
They replied, ‘while we understand the community will be disappointed, this decision was made after looking closely at the decreasing number of customers using this branch and the increased use of digital banking in the area’.
‘Just as they’re using online government services to complete their tax or a Medicare claim, locals in Mullumbimby are increasingly choosing to bank digitally because it’s more convenient.
‘Today, more than 93 per cent of customer interactions in Australia are taking place online, and this is increasing.’
The Echo asked NAB, ‘what is planned for the historic building?’
They replied, ‘NAB does not own the building, and will be handing back the premises to the landlord.’
$7.7b in profits
NAB’s cash earnings were up 8.8 per cent last year and its 2023 profit was $7.731 billion.
In August 2023, The Guardian reported that ‘National Australia Bank has announced the closure of almost 30 regional branches since a parliamentary inquiry into regional bank closures began in March’.
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