An information session for the Junee business community hosted by Commonwealth Bank Australia (CBA) in conjunction with the Junee Business and Trades Chamber of Commerce and was held at the Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory last week. The meeting was attended by tens of CBA staff Nick Abraham, Executive Manager for the Riverina region where CBA said they would be remaining open until 2026.
The Junee branch will now have two full time staff, with Bella Macintyre being the branch manager. From Monday, the branch has started to operate Mon-Fri, 9:30 am to 1:00 pm, with the full-time staff operating as call centre staff during the hours the branch is closed.
CBA emphasised their commitment to keeping regional banks open until the end of 2026, but suggested long term viability is dependent on community support and they would like locals to swap to the CBA instead of continuing with banks that have left the community, with Member for Riverina, Michael McCormack, who attended the session supporting this stance.
Mr McCormack said, “I was proud to have stood with the Junee community against the closure of its local Commonwealth Bank branch and am pleased to see the Commonwealth Bank has listened to the community by committing to keep all regional branches open until at least the end of 2026.
“Engaging with regional communities is essential to ensuring small towns across the Riverina don’t lose their local branches.
“I encourage banks to continue engaging with their communities to understand the needs and desires of the community so they can improve their practices.
“Other banks should take note of the Commonwealth Bank’s efforts to engage with regional communities to ensure small towns aren’t left without vital services.”
Mayor Bob Callow also attended the event and said it was extremely positive for all parties involved.
Bob said, “It was a very well attended function on behalf of the bank. The bank came out in force. The state representative for regional banking, Paul Fowler, and our new branch manager which was lovely.
“She’s our new branch manager so it’s very positive news. It was quite an honest appraisal for what had happened in the past, they realised closing the bank was not in the best interest of the community and not in the best interest of the bank. It was good to hear those words spoken.
“They’re looking now to re-approach the whole banking scene, not just in Junee and have another look at what they can provide.”
Bob said that the big message, however, the bank needed community support if it was going to stay past 2026.
“The message that came from it is if we help the bank, they will help us. They can’t promise to stay beyond 2026 but they are looking for better solutions so that they can stay beyond 2026.
“I thought it was very positive, no negativity from the local people which was good to hear. From that point of view, I think it went very well. I hope the Junee community will get on board and people who bank elsewhere may consider coming over to Commonwealth Bank because if we want it to stay, we have to support it.”
With the branch opening five days a week, there will be plenty of time to make the change.
Jack Murray