NAB are standing firm on their decision to close the Lithgow and Oberon branches despite meeting with Federal Member for Calare Andrew Gee, who requested the decision be reversed.
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Mr Gee said it was extremely disappointing that the bank will not reconsider the decision that would see customers from taking between 80 and 100-kilometre round trips for face-to-face banking.
"I met with NAB representatives at Parliament House in Canberra and asked them to reverse their decision to axe their Lithgow and Oberon branches. They refused, which is true to form but nevertheless is extremely disappointing to say the least," Mr Gee said.
"I don't think these banks have a real understanding of the distances that country people have to travel if they want to access a branch. There is little thought given to seniors and vulnerable customers who don't have access to transport. They have a very city-centric attitude."
According to Mr Gee, it is guaranteed that Oberon will lose their NAB ATM, and Lithgow's ATM remains uncertain.
"I also asked them whether they would keep their ATM facility open at Lithgow and open one up at Oberon," He said.
"For Lithgow, they wouldn't go so far as to make a commitment, saying they wanted to but that it was dependant on there being an available site. For Oberon, they just ruled it out.
"They offered nothing in that meeting that they haven't already said. While I give them some credit for turning up to meet with me, it honestly felt like they were just going through the motions."
Mr Gee said the big banks are walking away from the communities that helped build them and are deliberately downgrading their levels of face-to-face service to get more customers to use phone and online banking.
"The infuriating thing about this is that last year NAB made a massive profit of $7.7 billion. That eyewatering profit has been made possible by shutting branches in country areas that have supported the bank through the generations and made the bank what it is today," Mr Gee said.
"Not even the current parliamentary inquiry has slowed them down. The closures just keep on coming."
Mr Gee is calling on the federal government to regulate regional banking in a bid to reduce any further closures.
"The only thing the big banks fear is government regulation and that's why the Australian Government needs to get on with legislating minimum service requirements for banks in country areas," said Mr Gee.
