(10 October 2007 – Australia) BankWest has opened the first of 160 new retail stores planned for their east coast expansion over the next three years.The first stores are now open in the greater Sydney suburbs of Parramatta and Mount Druitt. The retails branches are aimed at providing broker support, increased branding and more touch points for the east coast.
BankWest head of broker sales, Phil Colton, said that brokers will have the benefit of trained support staff and will be able to use the branches for their own business needs including document signing and post-loan service.
The new branches are also being described by BankWest as ‘breaking the traditional banking mould’. Customers can receive coffee, read books, listen to music and entertain the kids as well as do their banking, the BankWest announcement said.
BankWest head of retail, Mark Reid, said that the expansion to the east coast would continue to put pressure on the Big Four banks and would change the experience of banking for their customers.