MELBOURNE, April 28, 2026, 07:11 (AEST)
ANZ Group Holdings Limited, along with the other big Australian banks, is once again under pressure to chip in for regional branch services. The Regional Banking Investment Alliance is urging Canberra to require major lenders to contribute to a face-to-face banking support scheme. According to The Australian, the alliance’s pre-budget submission singles out Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, National Australia Bank, and ANZ.
It’s a tough moment for ANZ. The lender drops its fiscal 2026 half-year results on May 1, forcing it to address a politically fraught access-to-banking row just as investors home in on costs, margins, and mortgage growth.
The alliance is pushing for a community service obligation—essentially, a levy arrangement designed to bankroll essential but expensive services in low-traffic markets. Under the plan, banks would foot the entire bill for maintaining in-person regional branches. Smaller players—those with under 1% of industry assets—could opt out. Price tag: A$153 million, which works out to 0.17% of the big banks’ operating income.
Regional banks complain they’re functioning like unofficial branches for bigger players. The alliance dubs this “pass-through banking”: customers turn to local banks for hands-on services—cash, fraud issues, anything that needs staff—while their deposits and mortgages end up with the big or digital banks. The impact? They estimate revenues down 30%, and say running a regional or remote branch costs an average of A$959,578 a year. RBI Alliance
The lines have been drawn. KPMG names National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ANZ, and Westpac as the country’s big four, each long-established as leaders by market share, revenue, and total assets.
Aaron Newman, chief executive at Queensland Country Bank and speaking for the alliance, argued that banks “neglecting the regions” should kick in “their fair share” to help keep physical branches up and running. His comment lands right at the crux of the matter: as banks whittle down their branch networks, someone still has to cover the staffing costs for cash, fraud prevention, and elder-abuse services. Queensland Country Bank
Policy momentum isn’t new here. Earlier, a Senate committee called for a mandatory customer service code for banks and a stronger process around closing branches. The committee also suggested a supplement to the Major Bank Levy aimed at keeping regional community branches afloat.
Nuno Matos at ANZ finds himself at the center of this. Back in December, Reuters said he was tapped to lead the Australian Banking Association council, taking the chair. Key focus points: making sure core banking services stay accessible, and tightening protections against scams.
The access crunch comes as household budgets stay under pressure. ANZ reported Monday that its Saver Plus matched-savings and financial education program saw first-term enrolments surge to a decade high. From January to March, 1,617 people signed up—marking a 29% jump compared with last year. More than two-thirds of participants were saving for their kids’ education.
Janet Liu, who leads social impact at ANZ, pointed to Saver Plus data highlighting the program’s impact on “reducing financial stress” and making it possible for families to buy school supplies that might otherwise be out of reach. For families and students, the program has been “a real lifeline,” said Brotherhood of St Laurence manager Aara Paora. ANZ
Still, investors are zeroed in on Matos’ restructuring push. Back in February, Reuters noted ANZ’s first-quarter cash profit jumped 17% to A$1.94 billion, with expenses down 8% on cost cuts and layoffs. Citigroup’s Thomas Strong pointed to “faster than expected progress on costs” as the main driver for the beat. Andrew Lyons at Jefferies flagged net interest margin—how ANZ navigates the gap between lending income and funding—calling it the “real test” as the bank chases a mortgage rebound. Reuters
For ANZ, there’s a risk the regional-branch plan fizzles entirely, or worse, ends up adding expenses right as the bank aims to streamline. The proposed A$153 million industry-wide isn’t much relative to the big banks’ earnings, but if contributions are mandated, it could undercut the rationale for closing branches—and push the issue of service access into the political foreground just ahead of earnings season.
