Westpac expands branch access across brands

The news: Westpac will allow customers to perform cash transactions at branches of any of its Westpac, St George, BankSA or Bank of Melbourne brands, following a technological upgrade linking its branch network.

The numbers: In July 2022, Westpac announced plans to merge 100 of its 800 branches over 18 months. Today's announcement is part of the bank's co-location strategy, which brings multiple branches under single locations in key areas and has led to the "opening" of more than 80 co-locations.

The context: Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank suspended closing any branches pending the outcome of an parliamentary inquiry into branch closures in Australia. Meanwhile, NAB has defended its closure of 29 regional branches since the inquiry began. Today's announcement came less than two weeks after inquiry hearings were extended to May 2024.