President of the Leeton Business Chamber has spoken out against the upcoming ANZ closure

President of the Leeton Business Chamber Krystal Roden said that the loss of human interaction would be detrimental to the town.

"It's disappointing for the people of Leeton and surrounding areas. I guess we work in an online world, but it's really important to have face-to-face interaction."

Mrs Roden also said that she was not surprised by the closure.

"The writing was on the wall for a long time, they changed their hours last year and were only open for half the day, but it's really disappointing... We're losing the art of having a human interaction."

"It's about having trust with the people who work there. That goes out the door when you're ringing someone and you're talking to somebody new every time."

ANZ has stood by it's decision to close the branch, saying that in-person branches were no longer as necessary to banking as they once were.

General Manager for NSW Michael Wake said "there has been a longer term trend that has seen our in-branch transactions drop... Customers are not using branches like they used to."

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Mr Wake acknowledged that the change would be difficult for customers in regional towns like Leeton where services can be less reliable.

"We recognise the transition will be more challenging for some customers, particularly in rural or remote locations where there can be a greater travel burden and less reliable services overall... We have notified customers personally about the Leeton branch closure and are letting them know about the alternatives they have available."

Mayor of Leeton Paul Maytom said that the closure would cause issues through the town but was unsure of the scale.

"Any branch closing down is a problem. At this stage, it's obviously disappointing. Right now, I don't know how many staff will be affected or how they'll be affected."

It's currently understood that ANZ workers will remain, but will be moved to nearby branches.

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