More than 650 branches since 2017: Banks continue to leave regions despite billion-dollar future

Rural Australians need banks to be “a rising tide that lifts all boats”, as the regions become the centre of billion-dollar green energy projects and an expanding agriculture sector.

But the increasing closure of local branches in regional areas does nothing to boost confidence in country communities, a federal inquiry is set to hear.

“To onlookers, especially investors, the absence of a bank can be misinterpreted as a poor reflection on the community, its economic capacity and long-term future,” the Western Queensland Alliance of Councils said in its public submission.

The inquiry into bank closures in regional areas will sit in Cloncurry, in northwest Queensland, on Wednesday, followed by another hearing in Ingham, north of Townsville, on Thursday.

The committee is set to hear from councils, the Queensland Farmers’ Federation, and community banks on the first day, while ANZ, Suncorp and Bendigo Bank will face scrutiny the following day.

The inquiry is examining the impact of accelerated bank closures across country Australia, where more than 650 branches have shut since 2017.

The major banks say a shift to digital services, particularly since COVID-19, has led to the closures.

But regional communities have told earlier hearings local bank branches are crucial for growth and are part of the social fabric in small towns, where sports clubs, festivals and volunteer organisations rely on cash.

The council alliance’s submission said US research recommended banks shift their focus from individual transactions to “shared values” in regional areas by financing local industries to drive economic growth.

“Creating shared value at a regional level provides a powerful opportunity for banks to fuel economic growth — a rising tide that lifts all boats,” the research paper said.

The Cloncurry Shire Council, which successfully fought to pause the closure of its Westpac branch, said the bank was leaving the region just as a $5 billion electricity project launched, land values skyrocketed and the population grew by nearly four per cent per year for five years.

It recommended third-party independent reviews look into the rationale behind branch closures.

The farmers’ federation said producers needed local branches for loans, farm management advice, investments and retirement planning as well as cash flow.

The inquiry has received more than 550 submissions and is due to report back by December.

This article was first published by AAP.