Last of big four banks departing Drysdale

THE COMMONWEALTH Bank (CBA) has announced the closure of its Drysdale branch, prompting a rebuke from Corangamite MP Libby Coker that it was “disrespectful of customers”.

Ms Coker has written to CBA urging it to reconsider the decision, given its departure follows that of National Australia Bank (NAB) that similarly shut up shop in Drysdale earlier in the year, leaving no local presence from any of the big four banks.

The decision is unlikely to be reversed, given CBA’s Regional General Manager David Castle said a recent review showed transactions at the branch had dropped by a third over the five years before the pandemic.

“We regularly review our branch locations across Australia to help us make informed decisions on where to open new branches, where to renovate or upgrade existing branches, and in some instances where to close branches,” Mr Castle said.

Ms Coker expressed concern about the impact of the closure on the elderly and those less skilled at online technologies, as well future of the staff who serve them, and noted that both the CBA and NAB had recently reported quarterly and half-yearly earnings of several billion dollars each.

“Customers clearly come second to profits for the big banks,” Ms Coker said.

The CBA’s suggestion that people travel to its Ocean Grove or Geelong branches, around a 15-minute drive, was similarly slammed by Ms Coker as “impractical” and “insulting”.

“We are engaging our people from the Drysdale branch to support securing appropriate comparable roles suitable to their needs,” the CBA’s Mr Castle said, and confirmed that withdrawals and deposits are available at the local post office.

An exodus of the major banks prompted reassurance from Bendigo Bank branch manager of Drysdale and Portarlington Nathan Warren to say they had no intention of reducing their presence in the region.

“We are 100% committed to providing a banking service to residents on the Northern Bellarine,” Mr Warren said.

“Community Bank Drysdale will be keeping our bricks and mortar bank presence in Drysdale.”

The Drysdale Commonwealth Bank will close on Friday, September 9.