Westpac postpones Denmark branch closure days after it was announced due to parliamentary inquiry

Denmark’s second bank branch closure this year has been postponed after a commitment from Westpac to delay any further decision on regional closures.

The decision from Westpac came with a commitment by the bank to work with the Senate References Committee’s inquiry into regional banking services.

“Westpac will postpone eight regional branch closures that were announced in February 2023,” a Westpac spokesman said.

“No further decisions on regional closures will be made while we engage with the inquiry.”

Last week, Westpac announced the Denmark bank would be closing eight regional branches across Australia in May, but on Thursday it announced the closures would be postponed.

It followed a similar pledge being made by the Commonwealth Bank to halt closures while the inquiry ran its course.

Regional bank closures were referred to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee for inquiry on February 8, with submissions closing on March 31 and a report expected in December.

O’Connor MHR Rick Wilson welcomed the commitment by Westpac and said he encouraged the bank to make a longer-term decision to remain in town in due course. He said small towns relied heavily on banks.

“The face-to-face services of a bricks-and-mortar bank are irreplaceable in small regional communities, especially ones such as Denmark that have an older age profile.

“Banks are also major generators of business activity in country towns, and their departure often leaves an economic black hole.”

The postponed Westpac closure comes after Denmark’s NAB branch closed on February 9, one day after the regional bank closures were referred to committee for the inquiry.

The bank pointed towards falling in-branch foot traffic and the newly updated Albany branch — 53km away — as key reasons for the closure.

A fact sheet about the closure provided by NAB cited 50 per cent of Denmark customers had only visited the branch once in the last year and more than 64 per cent of customers already used another branch.

Denmark Shire president Ceinwen Gearon said the Shire supported the parliamentary inquiry’s goal of providing independent advice regarding the impact of regional bank closures.

“We are pleased with the Westpac decision to delay further closures until the impacts are better known,” she said.

Had Denmark’s Westpac branch closed in May as was first announced, a Bankwest branch that only opens three days a week would have been the only remaining bank in town.