Bryce Eishold
The ANZ bank has announced it will close its Trafalgar branch on October 3 in a move which has outraged some community members.
The bank said the closure was due to a lack of in-store customers as the shift towards online banking grows, meaning the town will now be without any of the four big banks.
ANZ district manager Deanna White said fewer customers were using the Trafalgar branch and apologised for the “difficult decision” which is expected to affect the local community.
“Of our customers who have Trafalgar as their home branch, only 13 per cent of them currently use the branch with 71 per cent of them preferring internet or mobile banking,” Ms White said in a statement.
“We have a number of options in place for our customers to continue their banking including online and mobile banking.
“Customers can also visit us at the Moe branch which is 10 kilometres away. Nearly 25 per cent of our Trafalgar customers are already visiting our Moe branch.”
The bank said an ANZ ATM would remain in the town, either at the current branch or a nearby location.
“We are consulting the staff members who currently work at the branch and are supporting them through this transition while making every effort to find them redeployment opportunities with ANZ,” Ms White said.
However, Traralgon Chamber of Commerce treasurer and Trafalgar mortgage broker Scott Draper said the closure came as a shock.
“I’m not really impressed,” Mr Draper said.
“It doesn’t matter what we think; if they’re not making money they’ll just close it without community consultation.
“I’ve seen banks pull out of smaller towns in other places, it’s not great but it’s not the end of the world either. I bank with ANZ and I did that for obvious reasons so I have to reconsider my own position I suppose.”
The only remaining bank in Trafalgar will be the Bendigo Bank.
