The move was driven by branches doing an average of about 30 over-the-counter transactions a day,with regional branches averaging half that amount.
Commonwealth Bank has announced the mass closure of Bankwest branches as WA's oldest lender becomes a digital-only operation.
About 350 of Bankwest’s 3000 employees in WA will be affected. Fifteen regional branches and their employees will be transferred to the Commonwealth Bank brand. All employees in the 28 Perth branches and 17 regional branches to be closed will be offered new employment.
Bankwest personal banking manager Scott Spittles said it was a positive move for Bankwest to be the digital-only specialist within the Commonwealth Bank.
“This is really about us having a clear mandate to grow and accelerate,” he said.
Just 3 per cent of Bankwest transactions are done over-the-counter and less than 2 per cent of customers regularly visit a branch
“We’ve identified 2000 customers that we know only use a branch network and do so quite frequently,” Spittles said.
Spittles said those customers would be contacted individually and have their banking options explained,including moving to the Commonwealth Bank if they waned to continue using branches.
Bankwest customers will still be able to do everyday banking transactions at more than 350 post offices in WA.
Seven of the bank’s regional branches averaged five or fewer customer visits a day.
Workers in quieter locations were already also doing call centre work. Spittles said regional employees would be able to choose to stay in their communities and do call centre work full time.
Bankwest executive general manager Jason Chan said he recognised the change would be challenging for some customers.
“It’s critical we prioritise investment for the majority of our customers,” he said.
Bankwest’s move is in line with industry trends. The number of branches across Australia fell by 30 per cent,or 1680 branches,in the five years to mid-2022,according to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
Two years ago Bankwest stopped servicing business customers who were transferred to the Commonwealth Bank.
Bankwest started in 1895 when the WA government formed the Agricultural Bank of WA to service farmers. It was rebadged the Rural and Industries Bank,better known as R&I,in the 1940s.
In 1995,with the current name Bankwest,the government sold it to the Bank of Scotland that listed half the equity on the Australian stock exchange,only to buy it back in 2003.
Five years later,badly hit by the global financial crisis,the Scottish bank sold Bankwest to the Commonwealth Bank.
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