{"id":100999,"date":"2025-02-04T13:10:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T02:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=100999"},"modified":"2025-02-04T13:10:19","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T02:10:19","slug":"aussie-major-bank-shuts-18-branches-overnight-axes-100-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/aussie-major-bank-shuts-18-branches-overnight-axes-100-jobs\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cDevastating Abandonment\u201d: Aussie Major Bank Shuts 18 Branches Overnight, Cutting Nearly 100 Jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>People First Bank<\/strong> has announced it will permanently close <strong>18 branches<\/strong> across Australia, citing changing customer preferences and a decline in branch visits. The closures will result in <strong>nearly 100 job losses<\/strong> and have been met with criticism from the <strong>Finance Sector Union (FSU)<\/strong>, which described the move as a \u201cdevastating abandonment\u201d of customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Shift to Digital Banking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The decision affects <strong>11 Heritage Bank branches<\/strong> in <strong>Queensland<\/strong> and <strong>seven People\u2019s Choice Credit Union branches<\/strong> across <strong>Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory, and Victoria<\/strong>. These closures will take effect from <strong>April 4<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peoplefirstbank.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">People First Bank<\/a>, a <strong>customer-owned<\/strong> institution formed in <strong>March 2023<\/strong> following the merger of <strong>Heritage Bank<\/strong> and <strong>People\u2019s Choice Credit Union<\/strong>, attributed the decision to the increasing use of digital banking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chief customer officer <strong>Maria-Ann Camilleri<\/strong> said branch transactions now make up less than <strong>1% of total banking activity<\/strong>, with <strong>only 0.7%<\/strong> of affected customers visiting a branch on a monthly basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIncreasingly, our customers are choosing <strong>ATMs, internet banking, and our app<\/strong> for their day-to-day banking,\u201d Camilleri said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">List of Affected Branches<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Heritage Bank branches closing in Queensland<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Beenleigh<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Brookside<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Capalaba<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Indooroopilly<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Noosa Civic<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nambour<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mermaid Waters<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nerang<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strathpine<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Pines Elanora<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Victoria Point<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>People\u2019s Choice Credit Union branches closing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Northern Territory<\/strong>: Darwin<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Victoria<\/strong>: Maryvale, Warrnambool<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>South Australia<\/strong>: Gawler, Victor Harbor, Seaford, Northpark<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Camilleri acknowledged the impact of these closures on local communities but emphasized the need to <strong>reallocate resources<\/strong> to higher-demand areas, including the bank\u2019s <strong>24\/7 contact center<\/strong> and digital banking infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Union and Community Backlash<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Finance Sector Union<\/strong> strongly criticized the decision, particularly the impact on <strong>regional communities<\/strong>. Assistant secretary <strong>Jason Hall<\/strong> labeled the move an <strong>\u201cattack on regional communities\u201d<\/strong>, highlighting that five of the affected branches are outside major cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhile these aren\u2019t the first branch cuts of 2025, they are the largest,\u201d Hall said. \u201cIt also really plumbs the depths of irony for a bank calling itself <strong>People First<\/strong> to start their new brand by slashing branches and staff, putting last the people they claim to put first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The FSU estimates nearly <strong>100 jobs<\/strong> will be lost, though People First Bank has stated that affected employees will be offered <strong>alternative roles<\/strong> within the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Broader Trend of Branch Closures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>People First Bank <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/lloyds-bank-just-announced-136-more-closures-is-your-branch-on-the-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">is not the only financial institution reducing its branch network.<\/a> <strong>Bank of Queensland (BOQ)<\/strong> recently announced it would close <strong>14 branches<\/strong> across <strong>Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, and Western Australia<\/strong> between <strong>February 19 and 27<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A report from the <strong>Australian Banking Association (ABA)<\/strong> found that <strong>face-to-face interactions<\/strong> at bank branches declined by <strong>47%<\/strong> between 2019 and 2023, while <strong>phone calls dropped by 26%<\/strong>. The report also noted that <strong>99.1% of customer interactions<\/strong> now occur via <strong>digital channels<\/strong> such as mobile apps and online banking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Camilleri maintained that the People First Bank closures would have <strong>little impact<\/strong> on most customers, given the widespread shift to digital banking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor the small number of customers who use the affected branches, we have a range of options available so they can continue to bank with us,\u201d she said, pointing to <strong>alternative branches, ATMs, and Australia Post banking services<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/amp-bank-launches-australias-first-numberless-debit-card\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"100763\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">digital banking continues to reshape the financial sector<\/a>, the debate over accessibility and community impact remains a <strong>growing concern<\/strong> for customers and industry groups alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Aussie bank is shutting down 18 branches, leaving nearly 100 employees without jobs. Officials cite changing customer habits, while critics argue it\u2019s a blow to local communities. As digital banking expands, physical branches continue to disappear. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":101005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100999"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101006,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100999\/revisions\/101006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}