Bank branches at Mount Gambier, Millicent, Naracoorte, Bordertown and Kingston operated by BankSA will remain open at least until 2027.
Parent company Westpac had announced a year ago that its Kingston BankSA branch would close but then put that decision on hold.
While announcing last week the three-year nationwide moratorium on branch closures Westpac said it plans to invest more than $150m in the next two years to enhance its network of 182 regional branches.
“This announcement gives certainty to our people, to our customers and to these communities that we’ll be there to continue to provide banking services,” Westpac chief executive of consumer relations Jason Yetton said.
BankSA has closed six of its branches south of the River Murray in the past 15 years, citing declining patronage and a customer preference for online banking.
They were formerly located at Robe, Meningie, Tailem Bend, Keith, Penola and Tintinara.
The Westpac branch at Mount Gambier closed in 2022.
Westpac postponed the planned closures of Kingston and seven of its branches across regional Australia, ahead of a federal Senate inquiry into the economic and social impacts of such closures.
The other “spared” branches to remain open during the inquiry included the Robinvale and Sale branches in Victoria; Denmark in Western Australia and Gatton, Cloncurry, Ingham and Tully in Queensland.
The Senate committee took evidence at a public hearing in Kingston in February.
