By JESSE GRAHAM
HEALESVILLE residents are rumbling against the decision to close the local ANZ bank branch, with a public meeting called to vent customer frustration.
A meeting will be held at Healesville’s Senior Citizens Hall on Tuesday 10 June from 6pm and members of the public affected by the impending ANZ closure are being urged to attend.
The Healesville Chamber of Commerce has organised the meeting, and president, Graham Taylor, said that ANZ will have representatives from its head office present at the meeting to discuss the matter.
The meeting was called after a letter was sent to account holders and recent clients at the bank on 20 May, informing them that the branch would close at 3pm on 11 July.
Healesville’s Jill Robins and Barbra Honan both came out swinging against the closure, which they said would not only remove easy banking from the town, but also displace beloved community members – the staff of the bank.
Ms Robins, who has been with the branch for 37 years, said when her mother – also an account holder – passed away, ANZ’s Wendy Chapman took her lunch break to attend the funeral service.
She said there was an “extra level of care” from the bank’s staff, and that she was saddened at the prospect of changing banks, rather than take the 44- kilometre round-trip to the nearest branch in Lilydale.
Meanwhile, Ms Honan has been with ANZ for 50 years, 25 of which at the Healesville branch, and said she believed there would be damage to the local community if it left.
“I’m a stakeholder in this branch, and I have been for many, many years,” she said.
“One of the reasons I really don’t want it to go is that the staff over there are so good and so trustworthy, and we have confidence in them.”
“I’ve had an amazing experience with all of the staff I’ve dealt with, with all of the ANZ banks I’ve been involved with – I stuck with them, and I think they should stick with us here in Healesville.”
An ANZ spokesperson told the Mail last week that the reasoning behind the closure was that there had been a “dramatic” fall in in-branch customers in previous years, and a rise in online banking.
The spokesperson said the company was attempting to relocate staff to other branches, but that they would have access to support services and career retraining funds.
