At the end of September, the Bendigo Bank Yarram branch closed its doors permanently. An announcement, made in June, confirmed the “difficult decision” to close Yarram and nine other regional branches including Korrumburra.
Bendigo Bank argues that in an age of online banking, less people are visiting physical branches. A spokesperson claimed that only 26% of Yarram customers have visited the branch in the last year.
Local resident and vice-president of Yarram & District Progress Association, Kevin Mackin said that the community has been working hard, “trying to find a solution.”
He told Traf District News that they’d suggested options for the branch to have shorter hours and offer fewer services.
However, “Bendigo Bank has been particularly unwilling to discuss, negotiate or consider any option, other than their course of action,” he said.
All this means that Yarram customers will need to travel 64 km to the next closest commercial branch in Traralgon. There is a closer community bank in Toora, but Mackin says the bank has automatically transferred the accounts to Traralgon. He said that this only “added insult to injury.”
Mackin said that the decision and the preceding talks with the bank has destroyed its reputation in the town.
Federal Gippsland MP Darren Chester called the closure a “disgraceful decision.” He said the Bendigo Bank liked to promote itself as the better big bank, “but when it comes to shutting country branches, the Bendigo Bank is proving to be just as bad as the rest of them.”
With over 2100 bank branches closing between 2017 and 2023, locals are hoping that support for regional banks can come from higher up. In the last few years, there has been a Federal Regional Banking Taskforce which released a report in 2022 and a Federal Senate Inquiry into Rural and Regional Affairs which made recommendations last year.
Banking Code of Conduct was proposed which would mean banks need to meaningfully engage with the community and discuss potential impacts that would come from branch closures. The idea of a publicly owned bank was also discussed. In theory, a publicly owned bank would act in the interests of the community rather than shareholders. It was also recommended that Bank@Post services offered by Australia Post need to be improved.
For Trafalgar residents, our branch is protected as a community bank, meaning it’s owned by locals. It was opened by local business owners in the early 2000s that recognised that regional banks would be under threat.
The Trafalgar Community Bank recently had its branch refurbished, with manager Torina Johnston ensuring they are “here to stay.”
For Yarram, “a community bank is [the] preferred model,” Mackin said.
“The community bank in Trafalgar has been supportive, helping us to understand the difference [between community and corporate branches],” he said.
“We recognise the value of what they give to the local community,” he said, noting that the Trafalgar branch recently hit a milestone, $2 million given back to the community.
In the meantime, Mackin confirms the community “haven’t given up hope.”
Editor’s Note: Please note this story was written prior to the scheduled closure of the Yarram branch but published afterwards. We will continue to follow this story and provide updates when necessary.
