Sydney, 9 November, 2006: Banks have increased their branch levels every year for the past five years, according to a survey released by the Australia Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

Over the past five years (since the survey began in 2001), banks have increased their network to 5147 - an increase of 358 branches  or 7.5%. Over the last year, the increase is 187 branches which is a rise of 3.8%. (see over Table 1)

David Bell, Chief Executive of the Australian Bankers’ Association (ABA), said after branch rationalisation throughout the 1990s, the APRA data demonstrates that banks are now increasing their networks. Future branch openings are dependent on market conditions.

David Bell, Chief Executive of the ABA, said: “Banking is a 24/7 service offering accessibility from almost wherever you are. You may be at home, your workplace, a shopping centre, entertainment venue, airport, service station, hospital or many other places. Your ability to access and manage your personal finances makes banking one of the most convenient and accessible services provided in Australia.”

“Banks understand that some customers need or prefer to bank face-to-face. The trend over the past five years is to open branches especially in areas with growing populations and business activity.”

Over the past two years there have been solid increases in the provision of face-to-face services in what are normally less accessible areas (see Table 2). For example, face-to-face services in remote areas increased by 13%, very remote areas by 13% and moderately accessible areas by 12%. In very remote areas, banks accounted for 90% of the increase of face-to-face services, while in remote areas, banks accounted for 84% of the increase over the two years to the end of June 2006.

The main findings of the 2006 survey show that in the past five years:

• Branch level of service provided by banks has increased by 358 or 7.5%;
• Other bank face-to-face services such as agencies in small business (e.g. newsagents) have increased by 404 or 14.1%;
• Total face-to-face services provided by banks have increased by 762  or 10%;
• giroPost outlets have increased by 367 or 13%
• Total face-to-face points of presence (all Authorised Deposit Taking Institutions) have increased by 1,242 or 10.1%.

Table 1: Authorised Deposit Taking Institutions (ADIs) Points of Presence

	2001	2005	2006	2005-2006	% chg	2001- 2006	% chg
Face-to-face: Total
Banks	7,651	8,097	8,413	316	3.9%	762	10.0%
Building Societies	539	540	548	8	1.5%	9	1.7%
Credit Unions	1,323	1,450	1,426	-24	-1.7%	103	7.8%
Other ADIs	.	1	1	0	0.0%	0	0.0%
giroPost	2,821	3,077	3,188	111	3.6%	367	13.0%
Total: All ADIs	12,334	13,165	13,576	411	3.1%	1,242	10.1%
Face-to-face: Branch Level
Banks	4,789	4,960	5,147	187	3.8%	358	7.5%
Building Societies	328	317	342	25	7.9%	14	4.3%
Credit Unions	1,028	918	907	-11	-1.2%	-121	-11.8%
Other ADIs	.	1	1	0	0.0%	0	0.0%
Subtotal: Branch	6,145	6,196	6,397	201	3.2%	252	4.1%
Face-to-face: Other
Banks	2,862	3,137	3,266	129	4.1%	404	14.1%
Building Societies	211	223	206	-17	-7.6%	-5	-2.4%
Credit Unions	295	532	519	-13	-2.4%	224	75.9%
Other ADIs	.	.	.
GiroPost	2,821	3,077	3,188	111	3.6%	367	13.0%
Subtotal: Other	6,189	6,969	7,129	160	2.3%	940	15.2%
ATMs2	13,139	24,173	24,616	443	1.8%	11,477	87.4%
EFTPOS2	391,261	518,532	540,189	21,657	4.2%	148,928	38.1%

Table 2:  Authorised Deposit Taking Institutions (ADIs) face-to-face services by ARIA category and giroPost

Change and % change 2004-2006
ARIA* Category	Branch level of service		Other face-to-face		Total face-to-face
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
Highly Accessible	193	4%	35	1%	228	2%
Accessible	35	4%	86	8%	121	6%
Moderately Accessible	21	7%	71	16%	92	12%
Remote	11	7%	40	17%	51	13%
Very Remote	9	17%	15	12%	24	13%
(blank)**	.	.	.	.	.	.
Total	269	4%	247	4%	516	4%

Notes for Table 2:
* ARIA (Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia) is a classification of postcodes in Australia in decreasing order of accessibility. Further details on this classification and the interpretation of the categories can be found at http://www.health.gov.au/ari/aria.htm  which also provides a map illustrating the concept.
**  Some postcodes do not have ARIA indexes, and for these the ARIA category is shown as a blank.  This applies to postcodes for islands (other than Tasmania). APRA says changes in these figures reflect data quality and is not informational.

For further information:

Heather Wellard
Director, Public Relations
Phone: 02 8298 0411
Mobile: 0409 830 439