Senate grills suits over bank closure in Sale hearing

By TOMPARRY

BANKING executives have been chastised for their lackofconsultation and quizzed on local branch closures at ahearing in Sale.

The Senate inquiry into Bank Closures in Regional Australia held its first public hearing in thePortofSale's Wellington Room last Thursday, March2

Senators MattCanavan(Queensland -LNP), Malcolm Roberts (Queensland -One Nation), Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania -Greens),RaffCiccone (Victoria -Labor), Richard Colbeck (TasmaniaLiberal) and Gerard Rennick (Queensland -LNP) were present for the hearing, with Senators SladeBrockman (Western Australia -Liberal) and Linda White (Victoria -Labor) engaging via teleconference.

Witnesses from Westpac Group were called first, with theChief CustomerEngagement Officer, Ross Miller, and the National General Manager, Jason Green, both representing the company.

Westpac recently announced it would close its Sale branch, but has since postponed the closure until further notice.

In an opening statement to the inquiry, Mr Miller noted that 96 per cent of Westpactransactions are now done digitally; saying it was led by customer preference.

Mr Miller also acknowledged that "not everybody is ready" for digital banking, with a"smallminority" apprehensive about the change.

He further said that the decision to close abranch "is not made lightly", with customer demographics and their proximity to other branches taken into consideration.

Under questioningfromthe chair, Senator Canavan, Mr Miller claimed that 95 per cent of Westpac's customer transactions can be done through Bank@Post service, citing that figure as areason for the Sale branch's closure.

He also said that consultation with Wellington Shire Councilhad been done "in parallel" with Westpac customers, which was done via email.

The Gippsland Times understands that the Shire was informed through the CustomerAction Request Service.

Mr Miller said Westpac would be changing that process to aconversation.

Meanwhile,MrGreen said that Westpac had only spoken directly to council representatives the morning of the publichearing, which was later confirmed by the Mayor, Ian Bye.

SenatorRennick asked whether Westpac makes aprofit in Wellington, and if that was afactor in the Sale branch's closure.

Mr Miller responded by saying: "We look at the way people bank with us."

Westpac was also questionedabout what happens to staff once abranch closes.

Mr Miller said that mostemployeeswould either work from home or relocate to another branch; he estimated that 28 per cent of affected employees look for work elsewhere, while 23 per cent were retrenched.

Senator Whish-Wilson asked if Westpac executives received bonuses for saving money by closing branches, to whichMrMiller responded: "I'm remuneratedtoprovideservice to our customers."

In his questioningofWestpac, Senator Colbeck took issue with the company's claim that is consulted with the community, saying: "The only people you're consulting with is yourselves."

Mr Miller responded by saying that Westpac's own data provides"incredibly strong insights" into how customers useits branches,and that decisions are based on that same data.

SenatorColbeck responded by saying that process was "determining" rather than "consulting".

SenatorRennick askedabout the agreement Westpachad reached with Australia Post to provide the Bank@Post service, requesting acopy of that same agreement.

Mr Miller denied the request, citing "commercial confidence".

Finally, Senator Canavan asked about Indigenous customers, and whether Westpac knew how many Indigenous people lived in the Wellington Shire; neither Mr Miller nor Mr Green were able to answer.

Senator Canavan revealed the answer as 923, taken from Census data; he then asked why Westpac wasn't awareofthat figure, to the approval of at least one attendee.

Westpac's questioning concluded at 11.05am -35 minuteslongerthan scheduled -with Senator Canavan requesting alistofWestpac's regional branches and planned closures.

Witnesses from the National Australia Bank (NAB) were called next, represented by retail executives KrissieJones and Mil Kairouz.Ms Jones' opening statement echoed that of Westpac's,noting customers' "preference" for digital banking, while adding that the closing of abankbranch "is not done lightly".

Senator Rennick opened the questioning, asking why NAB hadn't invested in regional Australia.

Ms Jones responded by saying that acombined

$70 million had been investedinthe past three years at regional branches and banking centres. She further stated that branches had seen a66 per cent reduction in foot traffic.

On the subjectofjob losses at regionalbranches, Ms Jones said that NAB offers redeployment "in everyinstance",and that 97 per cent of employees hadbeen retained.

Under questioning from SenatorRoberts, Ms Jones revealed that $15 million was provided by NAB to Australia Post for their community banking services; as with Westpac, she refused to provide copy of agreement, citing commercial sensitivities.

SenatorCiccone askedwhetherNAB consults withgovernment figuresregarding branchclosures; Ms Jones responded by saying that local Members of Parliament are contacted the day prior to when customers are told, while local councils are informed the same day as customers.

Towards the end of proceedings, Senator Canavan questioned NAB on the permanent closure of its Maffrabranch, which was announced last month.

In response, Ms Jones and Mr Kairouz noted that the branch had faced "logistical and practical challenges", such as an inability to employ staff and reducedhours, both of which contributed to thedecision to close.

NAB's questions concluded at 11.45am,which was then followed by other witnesses.

Questions taken on-notice by Westpac and NAB aredue back March 10, while the inquiry's final report is due by December 1.

More coverage on the Senate inquiry will be available in this Friday's issue of the Gippsland Times.