The Mittagong branch of the Commonwealth Bank is to permanently close.
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The decision has been described as a "slap in the face" by Whitlam MP Stephen Jones.
"This will impact older Australians in particular, who trust their local branches to help them with their day to day banking," he said.
"Already we've seen the ANZ Mittagong branch shut its doors in August of last year, with the NAB branch following in January. This announcement by CBA will just create more upheaval and stress for older Australians in the Southern Highlands."
Mr Jones said bank customers were fed up and that loyal CBA customers deserved better.
"Many of them have been loyal customers for decades. But they've been given less than a month's notice about this latest closure and told that they can go to the CBA branch the next town over," he said.
"What was once a 10 minute stroll to the local branch has now turned into an hour plus long round trip for CBA customers in Mittagong. That's going to be tough for Mittagong locals without a car."
The CBA branch in Mittagong was temporarily closed last year due to COVID-19.
The ATMs at the Mittagong branch will be available until 12 pm Monday, May 24.
Commonwealth Bank regional general manager Norm Swift said they made the difficult decision to close the Mittagong branch after a significant drop in transactions over the past five years.
"We have redeployed more than 95 per cent of staff from branches that have closed," he said.
"Our people from Mittagong branch are supporting our customers over the phone and online as they have been since May last year, and they will be offered permanent roles in those teams or other comparable roles where it suits them.
"There are no job losses as a result of this decision.
"We recognise some senior customers prefer to do their banking face-to-face and this is one of the reasons why CBA is proud to maintain the largest branch network in the country.
"We've ensured customers who prefer over-the-counter service still have access to this option. For Mittagong customers, we have nearby branches at Bowral and Moss Vale."
Mr Swift said that Bank@Post was available at the Mittagong Australia Post outlet for customers who preferred face-to-face options for personal and business banking transactions.
"This includes withdrawals, deposits and bill payments including passbooks during normal business hours," he said.
"Customers can also access their accounts 24 hours a day through NetBank or the CommBank App. We are also available for general banking enquiries, through our locally-based contact centres on 13 22 21, every day between 6am and 10pm."
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Vera Demertzis
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
