Major banks have been labelled "bloody-minded" and "lazy" for shutting regional branches, as a Senate committee ramps up pressure to halt closures for the rest of the year.
A Senate inquiry into why banks are increasingly shutting shop in regional towns was launched last week after the closure of almost 100 branches since September.
Nationals Senator Matt Canavan, chair of the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee, wrote to banks on Friday urging them to halt closures in an act of good faith to the inquiry.
