THE closure of the Commonwealth Bank in Guildford next month, has been condemned by Cumberland Council which will fight to keep the branch open.
The branch will close on May 12 but Cumberland Mayor Lisa Lake has strongly criticised the move and written to the Commonwealth Bank and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority seeking that it “remains open to service the needs of our residents”.
She has also called on local Federal MPs to support her move, while also seeking an inquiry into the effects of bank closures in Metropolitan Australia.
She said that the closure of bank branches would be particularly problematic for the Cumberland community, where many residents are from non-English speaking backgrounds and rely on over-the-counter service and access to staff to assist them with their banking needs.
“Further in the 2016 census, the Cumberland Council area showed a higher than Greater Sydney average of households who do not access the internet from their home … Accessibility to services locally is critical to people in Cumberland Council,” she said.
Cr Ola Hamed said that it was a disappointing decision, especially considering that the last three times she visited the bank “the queues were out the door”, Cr Glenn Elmore said banks helped bring business to the area, and the closure would mean “businesses will lose out … It’s unacceptable”, while Cr Steve Christou said it was disgraceful, and would add to the suffering of the vulnerable and elderly.
Regional General Manager Irene Rowlands said the “difficult decision” to close Guildford came after a review which found a 45 per cent drop in transactions over the five years before the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are working closely with our people from Guildford branch to redeploy them to neighbouring branches. There are no job losses as a result of this decision,” she said.
“Customers who prefer over-the-counter service will continue to have access to this option, with nearby branches at Stockland Merrylands, Fairfield, Granville and Chester Hill.”
