An apparent bomb threat that prompted National Australia Bank to close hundreds of branches across the country has been deemed a hoax.
The bank evacuated and closed all of its branches, business banking centres and commercial sites on Nov. 18 over a “physical security threat”.
They will reopen on Thursday, with authorities ruling there was no danger.
“The latest advice from state and federal police is that the threat is not credible and has been deemed a hoax,” NAB said in a statement on Wednesday evening.
“As a result, we are pleased to advise that it is now safe to return to all NAB locations from tomorrow morning.”
AAP understands it was a bomb threat, although neither NAB, the Australian Federal Police or Queensland Police would confirm.
The lender has more than 600 branches across Australia and acknowledged the disruption had been an inconvenience for customers and staff.
But NAB made no apology for the shutdown.
“Their safety and security is our absolute priority and that is why we took the action we did,” it said.
“We did so with the information that we had at the time.”
NAB’s digital banking services were unaffected by the mass nationwide closure of bricks and mortar sites.
In a statement, the AFP urged the public to contact police if they receive a bomb threat.
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