Westpac claims the lease on the building is expiring and counter transactions at the Kaiapoi branch have dropped by 38 per cent in the past year. Staff actively deter customers from daring to front up to a branch counter. In a self-fulfilling grand scheme, the actively orchestrated plunge in counter transactions then prompts the branch to be unceremoniously slated for closure. My local Westpac branch in St Martins has now been consigned to history. But back to the Kaiapoi branch battle, where the final decision on the proposed closure will be revealed later this month.

Source: Stuff May 10, 2021 16:52 UTC