Local traders are furious the ANZ branch in Bridge Mall will permanently close in September.
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It's the latest blow to the bank's mall clients, already struggling with the impacts of the pandemic and lockdowns, leading to frustration and anger.
Germaine Davey, Bridge Mall general manager, acknowledged the world was changing, but feared the effects of the bank's closure.
"We are in a world of technology, but there are a lot of people, for a variety of reasons, that don't use that technology and that extends to banking," Ms Davey said.
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Ms Davey was upset for the traders who relied on the bank for its close convenience and efficient service.
"These traders are valuable to us as a community. They employ a massive amount of people," Ms Davey said.
"All the traders in this whole area use that bank and they're actually putting more pressure on small businesses to now spend an hour to go up to the other branch, find a park, and queue up.
"To be closing banks at this particular time when everything's already excessively strained, it's really poor timing in my view."
Wendy McLachlan, owner of giftshop Wen and Ware, said she was crushed about the branch's closure. She was particularly worried about the impact on the numerous elderly ANZ customers.
"When the Commonwealth Bank went, we noticed a huge difference with the older people because they used to line up outside the Commonwealth Bank for their pension," Ms McLachlan said.
"It's just devastating for business and for the public."
Ms McLachlan was saddened at the many bank closures in the Bridge Mall in recent years.
"The first bank that left was the Bank of Melbourne; then the Commonwealth Bank went; and now the ANZ so it's devastating for us," she said.
Inhabit Homewares owner Paige Fawcus was enormously disappointed, having switched to the ANZ branch when the Commonwealth Bank left the mall some years ago.
"We changed banks to ANZ because they were down here and now they're closing," Mr Fawcus said.
"There does need to be a bank down here in this area of town. I don't know why they all want to congregate together in the one spot in Sturt Street. It's really frustrating.
"For businesses, it does make it really hard to deposit cash. I would much rather do it at a bank teller than at an ATM. It's really annoying."
Having experienced a significantly more challenging retail year than 2020, Ms Fawcus was infuriated at the closure.
"Banks really need to think about their own customers and not just think about their own pocket."
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