The announcement today by the Coalition Government of the establishment of a Regional Banking Taskforce is very welcome news, Susie Bower, Liberal for Lyons said.

“Local bank branches are the soul of many of our regional towns and communities and over recent years too many of them have closed.

“In addition, many people still don’t have access to, or the skills to use internet banking and are reliant upon having a local bank branch to visit.

“In July I wrote to Mr. Mark Jones (Executive GM - Retail) of the CBA in July of this year to raise my concerns about their reduction in face-to-face hours, especially at Longford, Deloraine, and St Helens.

“Recently, we have also seen Westpac announce they will be closing their Sorell Branch.

“Hopefully, this new Taskforce will be an effective tool in finding solutions to the increasing problem of bank branch closures”, Ms Bower concluded.

*The Taskforce will bring together banks and other key stakeholders to assess how bank branch closures have impacted local businesses, industries and communities and work collaboratively to identify possible solutions.