Kununurra, Broome Bankwest branches to close in April and July

The planned closure of Bankwest branches in the Kimberley means the region’s most disadvantaged will lose access to banking services, according to a Broome financial advisor. Bankwest announced early in March that 60 of its branches would be either closed or re-badged to Commonwealth Bank Australia by October, citing dwindling customer numbers as the reason behind the move. Figures released by Bankwest showed just 11 people a day visited the Broome branch over the past six months, while Kununurra’s branch has been temporarily closed since August 2022 due to staff shortages. While closure dates weren’t initially provided, it can now be revealed Kununurra’s Bankwest branch is set to close on April 18 and Broome’s branch on July 1. Award-winning financial counsellor Veronica Johnson from Broome CIRCLE said the closures would have significant impacts on people living in remote areas. “It creates massive amounts of confusion and people in the communities are really scared and worried about what’s going to happen to their money,” she said. “A lot of the elders really do feel they need that one-on-one service and the banks are taking away that human factor, which doesn’t suit the communities.” Ms Johnson said the closures would also exacerbate elder financial abuse which was rife across WA’s North West. “They may have a phone but they may not have the internet. They may have internet, but they may have no connection. And if they do have a phone, it might be being used by one of their family members,” she said. “Sometimes they don’t even have glasses to see the phone properly so they need someone to actually look for them, which opens up a whole range of problems. “Even with internet banking, keeping passwords protected can be a challenge for the elderly. “English is also a second language for a lot of people in the communities and when they ring the bank, a lot of the times they’ll get someone who also has English as a second language and it is like the blind leading the blind. “I’m really hopeful that the Commonwealth Bank will step up and do what they can to assist those clients that are going to be left not knowing what to do or where to go.” According to Bankwest, only 2000 of its 550,000 WA customers exclusively use a branch, with about 97 per cent of transactions now done online. Bankwest has insisted it will help customers move across to CBA or access facilities at local post offices so they can continue to bank in person. The move will also affect 350 staff — including 129 in regional WA — about 10 per cent of Bankwest’s 3000-strong workforce, who will be offered new roles in the company.