Westpac is postponing the closure of eight regional branches, including Cloncurry, Ingham, Tully and Gatton, while it engages in the Senate inquiry into the impacts of closures of regional banks across the country.
The inquiry was established last week following a successful motion by LNP Senator Gerard Rennick, and the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee wrote to all banking providers, asking them to halt closures of regional banking to show they were approaching the inquiry in good faith.
That had the support of Liberal, Nationals, Labor and Greens senators.
Some 92 bank branches around Australia have either closed or been slated for closure since September 2022.
The Commonwealth Bank was the first to respond to the call, announcing at the start of the week that it would halt regional bank closures while the committee's inquiry was ongoing.
A Westpac spokesperson has since said it looked forward to working with the Senate References Committee Inquiry into regional banking services.
"Westpac will postpone eight regional branch closures that were announced in February 2023," the spokesperson said.
"No further decisions on regional closures will be made while we engage with the inquiry.
"We will, however, be continuing with our publicly announced branch co-location program, where we bring two branches and customer service teams together under one roof.
"These co-located branches allow us to invest and stay in communities and have been well received by customers in more than 30 locations."
The decision affects eight branches in regional Australia, including Cloncurry, Ingham and Tully in North Queensland, and Gatton in the Lockyer Valley.
Kennedy MP Bob Katter welcomed the decision, saying he had been speaking strongly against the financial "abandonment" of regional Australia.
"We're deeply appreciative that we, the KAP, have achieved a pause," he said. "Whilst this is a small battle in a big war, we thank Westpac for its concisions."
State Member for Hill Shane Knuth cautiously welcomed Westpac's "temporary pause" in its decision to close regional branches.
"Many Tully residents have expressed their concern to me as a lot of the elderly don't have access to online banking," he said.
"Communities such as this rely on regional branches to provide a service and direct one-on-one contact and provides local jobs in the community.
"The reality is banks' standing within the community are at an all-time low as they rack in multi-billion dollar profits while cutting services."
KAP deputy leader and Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto said it was good to see the backlash from Westpac customers in regional areas was enough to pressure the bank into postponing its regional branch closures.
"While it seems we have been a given a short reprieve here in Ingham, it is vitally important that regional Australia take this opportunity to be heard through this inquiry and I encourage every affected person to make a submission into the inquiry by March, 31.
"We can only hope that the inquiry delivers overwhelming evidence that shows the important role that banks play in the regions.
"We have been shown little loyalty by the big banks over the years and I will always support the idea of a public postal bank that gives the big four a run for their money."
KAP leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter said the aging population within the Traeger electorate was a concern that came with banks giving online only options.
"The impending closure of the Cloncurry branch however to me seemed highly misguided," he said.
"Cloncurry is a solid growth area, and for Westpac to have considered pulling a branch from that district shows a disregard for the regions.
"We're especially grateful to the strong leadership of the locals in Cloncurry for playing a big role in putting a halt to the decision."
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