Bankwest announces massive branch closures, 200 job losses

James Fernyhough
Jul 18, 2018, updated Jul 18, 2018

Bankwest is closing down two in three of its east coast branches. Photo: Getty

Commonwealth Bank subsidiary Bankwest will close two thirds of its bank branches in Australia’s eastern states, in a move to cut costs and focus on online banking.

The closure of 29 branches in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria will leave customers with just 14 branches to choose from.

It will also means 200 employees face losing their jobs.

Bankwest said customers were “being informed of the closures” and would “receive guidance on alternative banking options available to them by email, letters and store signage”.

As for the 200 affected employees, the bank said it was “placing a priority on supporting these people over the coming weeks”.

The closures will take place between 17 August and 7 September.

Bankwest managing director Rowan Munchenberg blamed the closures on “rapid changes in the digital space”.

“We’re seeing a consistent trend of customers choosing mobile banking over in-branch options for their transaction needs, with an 88 per cent rise in app logins over the past three years.

“So, we’re transforming our organisation to respond more rapidly to these changing customer needs by adopting new ways of working and embracing new technologies.

“This change does not impact Western Australia, where our strong brand and established footprint enables us to maintain highly competitive branch and digital offerings.”

Mr Munchenberg said the bank would would “do what we can” to help redundant workers find other jobs, “be they within or outside of the Group”.

Below is a list of the branches that will close.