A protest rally was held outside the branch on Wednesday afternoon, September 5, to contest the closure. Portland Business Association president Andrew Neville said he believed such a response was “a given”. 

“To lose the sole bank in a town like Portland, which has an ageing population, it’s hard,” he said. 

The Commonwealth Bank announced on August 31 that it would be closing its Portland branch in November.

A bank spokesperson said customers would be encouraged to use other forms of banking, including the internet. 

“Customers can also complete personal and business banking transactions such as withdrawals, deposits and bill payments, including passbook accounts, during normal business hours at the Australia Post outlet located at Williwa Street, approximately 500m away.”

Mr Neville said the community would continue to protest the decision, including forming a petition. 

Apart from the decision itself, Mr Neville criticised the way in which the announcement was made, which meant most people found out via social media or word of mouth. A personal and business banking client of the bank himself, he said he found from a customer at his gym. 

“They can send out hundreds of letters a year offering credit card increases, but they can't send a letter to customers saying they are closing the bank.”

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While the Commonwealth Bank declined to comment particularly on the staffing of the Portland branch, they stated “generally speaking, when a Commonwealth Bank branch closes, the Group will work to redeploy our employees and this process is currently happening”.

Sascha Craven who does her business banking at the Commonwealth Branch in Portland, said the town needed “to get behind” the post office staff to ensure they have access to extra safety measures in line with handling an increased amount of money.

“He’s already an agent for the bank.

“But I think there’s a huge security issue, because the shop is isolated, at the other end of town,” she said.

John Menchin said the change would inconvenience him, but he was most concerned about people who couldn’t drive into the Lithgow branch.

“I’m 73-years-old and I started banking here 73 years ago. My mum started an account for me when I was born.

“I don’t have a (debit) card, just a pass book. I come every week to the bank and take out my money for the week, and I know how much money I have and how much I can spend, and once I spend it that’s it.”

Shelley Bowen said she was considering re-financing the home loan she took out with the branch a year ago.

“I bought my house here, so this is where I was expecting to do it [organise my finances] not Lithgow or Bathurst,” she said.

“I’m thinking of re-financing because this shows the community doesn’t matter to them. If they have no loyalty to us, why should I have loyalty to them?”

Ashley Howden said she opened an account with the bank when she was in primary school through the Dollarmites program.

“The bank has been here since I’ve been here, I started banking here when I was a child.

“What about the future of our children? We had a Dollarmites account with the bank, the children aren’t going to learn to save.

“There is a future for this town, but now it is limited.”

Bathurst MP Paul Toole said the move by the Commonwealth Bank was “dumbfounding”. 

“Banks are making huge profits each and every year and yet they continue to close small branches that are providing a vital service,” he said. 

“They provide for a lot of people in the community an important service – face to face customer service.”

Mr Toole said he has contacted the Commonwealth Bank to express his concerns about the lack of service to the Portland community. 

“Decisions like this leave a sour taste in everyone’s mouth, no wonder people are cranky with the big banks.

“The shame of it is that it’s elderly people who are more likely to use the branch, and they are not tech savvy – they don’t have the same access. 

“It is unfair of the big banks to just think we will all bank online when so many still rely on face-to-face service to make transactions.”

The Commonwealth Bank posted a notice of closure at the branch on Friday, August 31, stating the final day of trading would be November 23. 

A spokesperson attributed the closure to changing banking habits. 

“Customers are increasingly choosing other banking channels to complete their banking using our mobile, online and phone banking services instead of visiting the branch. 

“In fact, we’ve seen a 34 per cent decline in transactions in this branch over the past five years.”

Blackheath’s Commonwealth Bank branch, which is also that town’s final bank, will also close its doors in October.