General News
8 July, 2025
Bendigo Bank to shut at Malanda
BENDIGO Bank will close its Malanda branch on 26 September, citing a sharp decline in customers who want to come into the bank to do their business.
The move has been slammed by the Finance Sector Union which said closing the Malanda branch and four others in regional communities that have no other bank branch was an “incredibly disturbing development”.
The union had written to local MPs in the regional communities affected by the closure asking them “to stand up for these branches, and the workers who staff them”.
“This is an incredibly disturbing development and does not bode well for the future of Bendigo Bank’s presence in regional Australia,” union national secretary Julia Angrisano said.
“For a bank which proudly has its regional centre hometown as part of its name, and is fondly known for its community branch network, this decision feels very ‘big bank’ for all the wrong reasons.
“It’s been almost 14 months since the Senate Inquiry into regional banking handed down its report calling for banking to be regulated as an essential service, especially to protect regional communities.”
A Bendigo Bank spokesperson said the decision to close the Malanda branch was “difficult” but said people coming into the branch had declined sharply in the past few years.
Figures provided by the bank show that 74% of its Malanda branch customers are registered for e-banking or phone banking and that 65% regularly use these ways to do their business.
Only 26% use the branch to do their banking.
“To preserve our ability to continue delivering for our customers and communities, we must ensure our branches are adequately supported and resourced,” the spokesperson said.
“This decision to close the branch takes into consideration the proximity of other branches in the surrounding area.
“Our Malanda branch will be closing permanently from Friday, 26 September and the bank is in the process of communicating this change to customers.”
Bank customers would be able to use the Malanda post office for cash deposits, withdrawals and cheque deposits, and the ATM at Malanda Real Estate would still be in operation.
For other banking needs that required face-to-face service, customers would have to travel to the Atherton branch.
