Mainly rural, but Australia loses 130 bank and credit union branches in past year
While bank branches were once the most solid long-term tenants, now the winds of change are undermining their permanence for landlords.
It seems the rise in ATM, telephone and internet banking are taking their toll, with the number of branches across the country falling for the first time in 11 years.
The issue the banks are confronting is who needs to go into a branch when all its features are at your fingertips?
The latest Australian Prudential Regulation Authority data shows the number of branches nationally fell 2% last year from 6631 to 6501 branches at the end of June 2013.
The ANZ made the most cuts to its branch network, down 10 branches from 794 to 784.
It was the only one of the majors to close outlets. In contrast the Commonwealth's network rose by 132 branches to 1158.
This loss of the 130 branches nationally was mainly felt in Queensland where 46 branches closed, with the almost halving of the Rural Bank network having the biggest single impact.
The Rural Bank is owned by the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank group.
But not all banks saw the need to cut personal service, with the roll out of Bank of Melbourne branches by Westpac bucking the trend.
It added 72 branches over the past two years pushing the total number of branches in Victoria to 1,273 - up 1%.
The plight of branches is even more dire overseas, with banks cutting 5500 branches across the European Union last year – 2.5% of the total. The region has 20,000 fewer outlets than it had when the financial industry was plunged into crisis in 2008.
Last year’s cuts come after 7200 branches were axed in 2011, according to data analysed by Reuters from European Central Bank statistics.
Perhaps they should heed the words of former Westpac boss Peter Hanlon who admitted in 2009 that its two-decade policy of shutting branches has cost it - and consumers - dearly.
In retrospect, he admitted to the Daily Telegraph, removing customer-orientated bank managers and centralising operations ‘’was a massive mistake’’.
The bank was hiring 400 new bank managers, telling them to be more hands-on, giving them more autonomy, and requiring them to be more active in their local communities.
He said the banks had failed to care adequately for customers by morphing into an automated and faceless service that account holders ‘’were increasingly fed up with’’.
