ANZ wants to revisit Bank@Post deal amid scrutiny of branch closures

ANZ dropped out of Bank@Post in 2019, after rejecting a deal cut by former Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate. It would have required ANZ to pay the same fee as larger competitors. ANZ said at the time the flat access fee – understood to be $20 million a year – demanded by the post office meant it would pay three to four times the amount of CBA on a unit economics basis, given its lower volumes.

ANZ maintains it should be offered proportional pricing. “I am half the size of CBA, yet Aussie Post wants to charge me the same flat cost for that service, and we didn’t think that was fair�, Mr Elliott told The Australian Financial Review in 2019.

Once its acquisition of Suncorp Bank is finalised, expected in August, Mr Elliott said he would be open to renegotiate the deal with Australia Post chief executive Paul Graham to see if ANZ can access services for a lower fee.

“Have we closed the door? No,� Mr Elliott said. “We have agreed Suncorp customers will continue to be able to access post, and when we get to completion, I have said to Aussie Post, my door is always open. I am always happy to engage to any dialogue that will lead to better outcomes for our customers but also for the bank.�

But Mr Graham told the committee in December that Australia Post would need more money from banks, beyond the existing deals, to upgrade its branches and train staff. “We need financial support to enable that to happen,� he said.

ANZ closed 72 branches last year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Westpac closed 167 branches – many of its regional brands were co-located in Westpac branches – while CBA shut 73 and NAB closed 63. These numbers include city and rural areas.

According to the prudential regulator, banks closed 242 branches in outer regional locations over the past five years, or 30 per cent; while a further 47 were closed in remote locations, also around 30 per cent. In contrast, Australia Post is required by legislation to operate 2500 of its 4000 outlets in regional and rural areas.

But Mr Elliott said while some branches had closed, others were opening. He pointed to a new branch in Darwin and another in Tennant Creek, where ANZ is the only big bank in town. “The footprint will change and respond to customer needs,� he said.

Mr Elliott said ANZ would always have a branch network. “I don’t think we will be digital-only bank. I don’t see that even beyond my lifetime, it’s not credible,� he said.

Still, “we are not CBA, and we are not Westpac, they are bigger than us and have a bigger footprint than where we started�, he said. “Our customers tend to be more affluent and urban and digital. But, there will still be a role for branches.�

The Senate inquiry heard rural bank branches were an essential service, particularly for the vulnerable, marginalised and those lacking in digital and financial literacy. Some customers complained about increased travel times to their nearest branch, reducing business productivity; others said limited internet connectivity in the bush made digital banking less attractive than for those in cities.

Ahead of the inquiry report, Westpac extended a moratorium on regional branch closures until January 2027, a month later than a similar commitment by CBA. Angus Sullivan, CBA’s retail banking boss, said earlier this month the arrival of digital competitors, including Macquarie, was creating “challenges [for] the longevity of the universal service model of the major banks�.

It was Bank@Post that triggered the Cartier watches saga that led to the exit of Ms Holgate from Australia Post in 2020, after she spent $20,000 on luxury watches for executives behind the deal with the other three major banks.