Motueka ANZ branch could close

ANZ bank may close its Motueka branch.

A bank spokeswoman said it was consulting with staff at the High St branch about the proposed closure. The consultation would be finished early next week, and the bank could not comment further in the meantime.

If it goes ahead, Motueka will be the latest in a string of ANZ branch closures in small towns around the country.

ANZ manager of external communications Emma Mellow said that over the past three years, its branch network had reduced by 14 per cent. She said this was due to both a falling number of transactions at branches, and earthquake risk.

Mellow said the average ANZ customer used online or mobile banking once or twice a day, and visited a branch just once or twice year. ‘‘Over the past three years we’ve seen a 30 per cent increase in digital logins, so we now have 1.37 million active digital customers.’’

Tasman District Council Motueka councillor David Ogilvie said he would be ‘‘surprised and disappointed’’ if ANZ were to close the branch.

‘‘I’m not sure how many customers they’ve got, but it’s always seemed very busy to me . . . I don’t really know until I see data or figures, but it would certainly have an impact,’’ he said.

‘‘There may be a number of bank changes perhaps, from new technology, where people perhaps aren’t going in. But to close an office would be remarkable.’’

Ogilvie said he was ‘‘really surprised’’ by the proposal, because the Motueka branch served more than just the town. ‘‘Not just Motueka, but the surrounding area, holiday visitors and the likes. Our current population in the town and district is about 14,000, and that grows to about 20,000 for four or five months in the summer months.’’

Since 2016, ANZ has closed branches in Waimate, Milton, Ngaruawahia, Te Aroha, Hokitika, Pahiatua, Wainuiomata and Wairoa.