Businessman says bank should stay
One of Fairlie’s most successful businessmen is not personally too worried about the town’s only bank closing, as he doesn’t use it, but he thinks it should stay because of the number of people who do rely on it.
Franz Lieber, owner of the hugely successful Fairlie Bakehouse, said he was turned away by Westpac when he originally applied for a loan to start up the business.
‘‘It was because I had no figures to show them and they did not believe the business would work in Fairlie,’’ he said.
Lieber opened his bakery in 2009, and in 2014, the business was named the region’s fastest-growing business in the retail and consumer products category at the Deloitte Fast 50 regional awards.
Earlier this month, Westpac announced it planned to close 19 regional branches, including the one in Fairlie, with decisions expected by the end of September.
Lieber, whose business banking is done in Timaru, said it would be a shame for his older customers in particular if the bank closed.
It would probably create a problem for the coachloads of tourists who visited the town as well, he said.
‘‘Cash is still king. When you travel with a credit card it can get out of hand, but when you have cash you can keep track of how much you’re spending, and a lot of my customers do that.’’
The Fairlie Bakehouse had a constant stream of customers throughout the day, he said.
Lieber agreed the unprecedented success of his business, which typically produced between 2000 and 4000 pies a day and was currently building a bigger premises, belied the claims of economist Shamubeel Eaqub, who said small towns like Fairlie ‘‘did not have large enough populations with enough business and transactions to warrant a bank’s presence’’.
Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean confirmed on Wednesday she would be attending a protest outside the Fairlie bank at 1pm on Friday. The decision to protest was made at a public forum hosted by Dean, which about 40 people attended, in the town on Monday.
Lieber was not sure if he would be attending the protest or not. He was too busy to have given it much thought, he said.
The Fairlie protest will take place at the same time as one in the Central Otago town of Ranfurly, which also faces the possible loss of its bank.
Dean held a public meeting in the town last week, which more than 100 people attended.
Central Otago Mayor Tony Lepper said the council was prepared to lobby Westpac at a national level to see if ‘‘they really do have a rural heart’’.