Suncorp is all but quitting over-the-counter banking in WA, closing eight of its nine Perth branches.
The Queensland financial services group says the decision reflects the declining use of branches by customers, who are increasingly going online to do their everyday banking.
“The decision to close a branch is never taken lightly, but we’re finding that fewer customers do their banking at the branch,” Suncorp said in a statement.
“Since 2010, national over-the-counter transactions have declined by 30 per cent, from 685,000 to 478,000 in August 2015, while mobile transactions have grown from 312,000 transactions to more than 5 million in July 2015,” it said.
Banks, however, are also intent on cutting expenses in what is a low-growth environment, with Suncorp chief executive Michael Cameron telling shareholders just last month that “recalibrating” the group’s costs was a priority.
WA accounts for about 7 per cent of Suncorp’s $54.3 billion loan book.
Perth customers who prefer face-to-face banking will have to rely on the one branch not slated for closure, in St Georges Terrace.
The group was unable to say how many staff were affected by the closures, adding that it was trying to redeploy them elsewhere within Suncorp.
