Bankwest’s Mandurah Forum branch closure to mark end of an era for WA’s first bank

Bankwest’s final metropolitan branch will close its doors on Friday, ending a street presence dating back to WA’s colonial years.

Mandurah Forum is the last of 28 branches across greater Perth marked for closure as part of a sudden announcement by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in March to hasten the transition of Bankwest to a digital-only bank.

The former State-owned bank’s remaining 15 branches, all in regional WA, will be converted to CBA by mid-December, but there is no guarantee they will survive beyond 2026.

CBA, which bought Bankwest from its struggling British parent for $2.1 billion during the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, said the mass closures reflected the sharply diminished use of its subsidiary’s branches as customers increasingly rely on digital channels.

However, some customers - mainly elderly - still rely on brick-and-mortar branches for their banking and have been forced to make alternative arrangements if they don’t want to switch online or move to CBA.

Bankwest’s impact assessment statement for the Mandurah closure said over-the-counter transactions at the branch had fallen 30.6 per cent to a daily average of just 64 in the year to February.

However, a line of about 10 customers was waiting for the branch to open when The West visited Mandurah Forum on Wednesday. And there was a steady stream of visitors over the following 30 minutes seeking help from staff.

Bankwest has run a branch network since it was founded in 1895 as the Agricultural Bank, later the Rural & Industries Bank, with the backing of then-premier John Forrest as “a novel experiment in State enterprise” to help fund the cultivation of the Wheatbelt.

Once listed on the Australian stock exchange, it embarked on a major national expansion under its former parent, British bank HBOS, that was scuppered by the GFC and its sale to Commonwealth.

At the time of the purchase, CBA emphasised its “intention to maintain and grow the Bankwest brand” and insisted “BankWest branches and business centres in WA will not be closing as a consequence of this acquisition”.

However, CBA has in recent years reined in the subsidiary, closing its east coast offices, trimming the WA branch network and pulling it out of the business lending market.

The take-up of more convenient digital banking has changed the industry landscape, though there is little doubt the big banks have made it more difficult to access over-the-counter transactions.

About 97 per cent of Bankwest’s transactions are now done online, with just 2000 of its 550,000 customers only using a branch.

The last of the 17 regional branches not switching to CBA are also closing this week, with Geraldton going on Wednesday and Kalgoorlie on Thursday.

Bankwest says most of the 350 staff affected by the mass closure have accepted offers of redeployment across the bank or CBA.

However, those moving to CBA will only be confirmed in the roles after the Fair Work Commission determines they won’t be worse off under the CBA contracts.

The Finance Sector Union has lodged a dispute against the CBA at the FWC on behalf of its Bankwest members, claiming the bank is “trying to force an inferior enterprise agreement on its loyal Bankwest workers at a time when inflation and cost of living is eroding workers’ pay”.