Commonwealth Bank announces multiple branch closures anew

The landscape of banking in Australia is changing, and with it, the physical presence of bank branches in Australian communities.

In a move that has left many concerned, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has announced the closure of three more branches across the country.

This decision, according to the bank, is a response to a progressive decline in customer demand at the affected branches.



The branches in Coogee, New South Wales, Coolangatta, Queensland, and Adelaide’s Rundle Mall in South Australia are set to close their doors permanently by March 1.

The CBA has been a cornerstone of Australian banking for over a century, and for many, their local branches have been a familiar and trusted presence.


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CBA has announced the closure of three branches. Image source: Google Maps



However, technological advancements and shifting customer behaviours have led to a significant decrease in-branch transactions.

Over the past five years, the bank said transactions at the Rundle Mall branch in Adelaide have dropped by 47 per cent, while the Coogee branch has seen a decrease of 52 per cent, and the Coolangatta branch by 29 per cent.



‘We regularly review our services across Australia to help inform decisions on where to open, renovate or upgrade branches, or in some instances where to close branches,’ the bank stated.

‘After a recent review, we made the difficult decision to permanently close our Rundle Mall Adelaide, Coolangatta and Coogee branches.’

‘Staff will be available to provide one-on-assistance until Friday, March 1, 2024 to help equip and educate customers with alternative banking options,’ they continued.

According to CBA, all but one of the 22 employees currently working across the three soon-to-close branches will be relocated to ‘appropriate, comparable roles suitable to their needs’.

‘We are also supporting the remaining staff member to find potential opportunities,’ they added.



The closure of these branches is not an isolated incident.

Last year, three of the bank’s branches shut down in Sydney, Perth, and Melbourne, resulting in nearly 200 job losses.

Other banks, including NAB and Bankwest, have also announced branch closures this year.

Despite these closures, the Commonwealth Bank has confirmed that it will not close any more regional branches until at least the end of 2026.

The bank has also stated that it invests around $60 million in its branch network each year to upgrade or refurbish existing branches and open new ones where there is customer demand.

In Adelaide, for example, the branch on King William St located 700m away will undergo a $5 million renovation.

According to a report by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), 11 per cent of Australia's branches, a total of 424, vanished during the 12 months up to June 2023.

Out of these, 122 branches, which account for 7 per cent of Australia's total branches, were located in remote and regional areas.

Key Takeaways
  • Commonwealth Bank is closing three branches in Coogee NSW, Coolangatta QLD, and Adelaide's Rundle Mall SA by March 1 due to declining customer transactions.
  • Affected staff will be offered alternative roles, and one-to-one assistance is being provided to educate customers on other banking methods.
  • Commonwealth Bank emphasised its continued investment in banking services through various channels and confirmed no more regional branch closures until at least the end of 2026.
  • Refurbishments are planned for other branches, including a $5 million upgrade for the King William St branch in Adelaide.

What are your thoughts on these branch closures, members? Have you been affected by a bank branch closure in your area? Share your experiences and thoughts with us in the comments below.
 
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Ah promises, I have vague memories of a time when people kept those.

Though I might be only in my imagination.

We certainly can't expect any government's to make banks to keep theirs, after all the don't keep their own.
The government is a criminal cabal that serves banks and big business. It's not a liberal or labor thing. They are all crooked. They are all there to feather their own nests. Look at the past PM's. Morons in full flight spending tax payers' money like drunken sailors. Giving money away left, right and centre even though we are in so much debt.
I think they should all be dragged out of their offices and tarred and feathered! Look at the idiot we have now as a PM. He couldn't even lie straight in bed he's so crooked! Scumbo was no better either.
 
Using cash equates to Freedom! SO many of us use our cards with no thought what it means to NOT use Cash! IF WE all go to a ATM or bank and withdraw our fortnightly Pension means WE are NOT Tracked using the card and then are NOT adding to the problem. Cash IS Freedom, USE IT or LOSE IT!
 
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Using cash equates to Freedom! SO many of us use our cards with no thought what it means to NOT use Cash! IF WE all go to a ATM or bank and withdraw our fortnightly Pension means WE are NOT Tracked using the card and then are NOT adding to the problem. Cash IS Freedom, USE IT or LOSE IT!
I agree 100%. I always compliment people when they use cash and say exactly what you said. "Use it or we'll lose it".
Tracking and tracing is not only done with credit and debit cards. It is also done by your mobile phone. 5G has nothing to with better reception. It is for high speed data transfer when you are being traced. Cover up your cameras on your computer and your phone because they are watching us with those devices. Same as all the "smart" appliances. You are inviting a spy into your house. Do your research and find out for yourself how evil all this is. Look at the plan from the WEF if not for your sake then for your kids and grandkids.
SOMETHING EVIL THIS WAY COMES.
 
These bank closures are the back door way to make us pay to use our money. Not true you say well , their big push is to do away with cash and you all know that is straight from their own mouths. They use a lot of false statements about costs to move money around, security, blah, blah, blah.
But the insidious reality is , now you have to pay a surcharge in all plastic trans action. That's right a percentage of the transaction you pay for , where before you never had to.
The retailer says it is the banks charging them for the machine, the service, account keeping fees and all other sorts of crap excuses, but the simple truth and fact is , we are being charged to use our own money when using a machine that the banks demanded we used from the days of the hole in the wall.
Now you use the card to pay for a cuppa coffee and the 2% is not much ,but then you buy a fridge and it is $2,000 and that 2% is a decent whack added to the cost of the fridge.
Now doing simple maths by adding the number of card transaction daily across the buying public and it easy to imagine a million dollars a day across the country the banks gets for doing nothing
NO service, no employing people --JUST PURE PROFIT FOR SHIT (excuse the word) IT is obvious that the banks never got the message under the Morrison commission( was expected to get no results) and they are now back to their thieving ways at full bore again
 
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