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Bendigo agency move part of community bank cull
BENDIGO and Adelaide Bank has continued its assault on its community bank network, forcing the closure of 28 agencies run by community franchises.
All the agencies are in regional Australia and 17 of the affected towns will be left with no banking services after the closures.

Dale Webster
Jul 2831 min read


How did 100 Bendigo Banks close without anyone noticing until now?
BENDIGO Bank has hit the headlines for closing 10 branches shortly followed by an announcement it was getting rid of all of its regional agencies but there are another 90-odd Bendigo-branded banks that have disappeared over the past five years it has managed to keep quiet.

Dale Webster
Jul 235 min read


Calling bull#%*t on the better big bank branch network
WITH the announcement that Bendigo Bank is closing two of its regional branches at Yarram and Korumburra this week, it’s time to again call bull#%*t on the claims this corporation makes about the size of its branch network.

Dale Webster
Jun 274 min read


Regional Australia still waiting on bank reforms outlined in senate report
ONE of the most important Federal Government inquiries into welfare issues specific to regional Australia in decades handed down its final report a year ago this week.

Dale Webster
May 286 min read


ANZ at cashless tipping point after fundamental change to bank business model
WHEN does a bank cease to be a bank? Seven months ago, at a hearing of the Federal Government’s House Economics Committee in August 2024, Labor MP Tania Lawrence attempted to ask ANZ Bank chief executive Shayne Elliott about ANZ refusing to accept cash at the counter from customers.

Dale Webster
Mar 178 min read


Hard NO to cash mandate that will do more harm than good
The Federal Government has published a proposal for a cash mandate that will only apply to a legislated list of “essential” goods and services and give express permission to more than 97 per cent of businesses in Australia* to refuse to accept cash.

Dale Webster
Feb 105 min read


Does the Treasurer have a god complex or is he just trying to avoid the really hard reforms?
THE Senate inquiry into regional bank closures, which delivered its final report in May this year, was an important investigation by...

Dale Webster
Nov 18, 20244 min read


ANZ's bid to outsmart Suncorp contract reaches new low
JUST when it seemed ANZ’s attempts to justify the closure a regional NSW branch in defiance of a condition of the Suncorp acquisition deal not to close any regional sites for three years could not get any more farcical, the bank has upped the ante.

Dale Webster
Sep 7, 20244 min read


ANZ blows up 'legally binding' Suncorp deal over Katoomba branch
ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott made frequent mentions of “reputational risk” while giving evidence to the house standing committee investigating the big four banks in Canberra on Friday.

Dale Webster
Sep 2, 20245 min read


A win for the people as Australia's big banks finally go too far
IT is impossible to pinpoint an exact time when Australia’s big four banks turned on their regional customer base but May 24, 2024 will...

Dale Webster
Jun 30, 202423 min read


When money changes hands, independence is out the window
THE Commonwealth Bank has marked the Sunshine Coast again being named the fastest growing regional migration destination in Australia by...

Dale Webster
Jun 16, 20243 min read


Banks blow their chance to self-regulate by betraying trust
IT may have taken 20 years but a Federal Government inquiry has finally made good on a warning that if the 'big four' banks did not...

Dale Webster
May 25, 20243 min read


Report signals party is over for Australia's big four banks
OFFICIAL recognition of banking as an essential service, the end of self-regulation of the banking industry and a pathway forward for the...

Dale Webster
May 24, 20244 min read


Trust is something that is hard to win but easy to lose
COMMENT IF there was ever a time to take a close look at the relationship Australia’s major banks have with the word “trust” it is now....

Dale Webster
May 14, 20244 min read


Third of NAB’s regional banks wiped in CEO’s reign of terror
After slashing NAB's regional branches by a third Ross McEwan is bailing before a senate inquiry into the closures reports. Miniscule...

Dale Webster
Feb 10, 20246 min read


ANZ closes early for Christmas parties on busiest day of year
DURING the COVID crisis, Australia’s major banks lobbied hard to be counted as an essential service so they could remain open during...

Dale Webster
Dec 23, 20232 min read


APRA bogged in a data mess of its own making
HEADLINES around Australia last week screamed out about bank closures. They were triggered by the release of the Australian Prudential...

Dale Webster
Oct 27, 20234 min read


Banks' disconnect from regional Australia never more obvious
THE chief executive of the Australian Banking Association Anna Bligh did not read a single submission to the 2021-2022 Regional Banking Taskforce she was a member of.

Dale Webster
Sep 24, 20238 min read


The dirty business of bank closures laid bare in WA
AT the end of two days listening to senate hearings investigating the impact of regional bank closures in Western Australia all I wanted...

Dale Webster
Aug 21, 20236 min read


Make up your mind CBA, you can't have it both ways
THE Commonwealth Bank is at it again. While to be congratulated on its decision to put a three-year moratorium on regional branch...

Dale Webster
Jul 7, 20232 min read
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