Bank of Queensland confirms 9 branch closures, union claims a ‘shameful act of betrayal'

The Bank of Queensland (BOQ) has come under fire after continuing to shut down a further nine branches – potentially leading to job cuts.

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) has hit out at the BOQ, arguing the bank was continuing to “thumb their nose” at local communities, with the bank shutting down nine branches across varying locations.

Branches in Subiaco and Bunbury (Western Australia), Sydney Markets, Campbelltown and Byron Bay (NSW), and Aspley, Edge Hill, Aitkenvale, and Surfers Paradise (Queensland) are set to close between July and August – coming just after closures in Manly, which occurred on 30 May.

“The Bank of Queensland, once proud of their national network, is continuing to gut branches from local communities,” said FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano.

“Removing branches is a shameful act of betrayal by big businesses [that] care about their profit more than they care about delivering the local services banks used to be proud to provide to their customers.”

With 30 staff set to be affected across the various branches, the BOQ has offered redeployment for suitable roles, yet the union claims that there are “real fears that some employees will no longer be in a position to continue to work for the bank”.

“There are 30 hard-working staff across those nine branches. We are pleased to see commitments to redeploy staff, but those processes can be highly stressful, and not all staff will be able to take advantage of those opportunities,” said Angrisano.

“They will lose their connections to local customers and communities by being relocated to other branches/roles within Bank of Queensland and may not be able to manage additional travel time.”

In a statement given to HR Leader, a BOQ spokesperson confirmed that nine branches were, in fact, being shut down, citing an “embrace of digital banking” as a key motivator.

“BOQ can confirm the closure of nine branches as we continue to simplify operations, and more customers embrace digital banking.

“We are focused on supporting our people throughout this process and are pleased that most team members will transition to new roles across our network.

“As our branch network evolves in line with our business priorities and growth corridors, we remain committed to our customers …,” the spokesperson said.

“Additionally, as customer preferences continue to evolve, we remain committed to expanding our mobile lender and business banker teams – offering customers greater choice in how they bank with us.”

The FSU argued that BOQ’s chief executive Patrick Allaway’s “cost-cutting frenzy” has continued for the past year and a half, which has thus far included around 620 redundancies.

“The greedy actions of the Bank of Queensland are reprehensible, but sadly not surprising. These branch closures follow a trend as the bank loses the connections with communities. In January, the bank announced the closure of 14 branches across the nation,” FSU said.

“CEO Patrick Allaway has been on a cost-cutting frenzy for more than 18 months, buying back franchised branches – which we always said was a precursor to more branch closures – and announcing staff cuts of 400 in September 2024, on top of 220 staff cuts in October 2023.”

Labelling the recent decisions from the BOQ as “disgusting”, the union called on the federal government to intervene – arguing that a lack of regulations exacerbates the issue.

“Bank of Queensland customers are right to feel deeply betrayed by yet more branch closures, and Finance Sector Union members stand with them in disgust at the actions of this greedy corporation. We shouldn’t need to see more branches, ATMs and staff jobs slashed before the federal government acts,” said Angrisano.

“Banks are only able to slash branches and ATMs at will due to the lack of any regulations. We look forward to discussing banking regulation with the new Assistant Treasurer and Federal Financial Services Minister Daniel Mulino.

“The Finance Sector Union believes there needs to be minimum standards introduced to ensure that all Australians have access to choice in basic banking services. The removal of branches and ATMs are designed to boost profits while reducing services. The absence of minimum standards allows banks to cut services on a whim with no regard to local needs or preferences.”

The potential job cuts come after Westpac announced more than 1,500 job cuts in an attempt to hit lofty cost-reduction targets.