Clutha Mayor Bryan Cadogan yesterday confirmed the meeting, but said it was unlikely ANZ would send a representative.
He had invited the bank to the meeting to discuss its proposal to close its Milton branch.
ANZ management appeared hesitant to commit to attending a full public meeting due to concerns it was still in the consultation phase with staff, he said, but it was interested in meeting council members privately.
The bank proposes closing its Milton branch by November because of dwindling customer use, as people preferred to bank online or in Balclutha.
He and the councillors would take up the offer to meet ANZ.
''I believe it is essential that ... we maximise this short window of opportunity to negotiate the best outcome.''
It was ''a stretch for an individual community'' to get an effective response, Mr Cadogan said.
''What we're basically asking is for the corporates to consider what their social obligations are.''
He doubted it was no longer financially viable for the branch to remain open, given the profit banks made.
He was sure the Milton community would turn out in force to the public meeting and do whatever it took to make ANZ aware of the implications of the closure.
The meeting would be held at the Milton Coronation Hall at 7.30pm on September 20th, regardless of whether ANZ decided to attend, he said.
Clutha-Southland MP Todd Barclay said in a statement he would be following the situation very closely and was being kept informed by ANZ of developments.
He did not directly answer whether he would take a similar stance to Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean, who has been heavily involved with the protests over the proposed closure of a Westpac branch in Ranfurly, but said banks were private businesses and the Government had no say over where they opened or closed branches.
''I acknowledge that there has been a huge shift in the way people access banking services now ... [and] from a community perspective I'm keen to ensure that locals still have the ability to access the day-to-day banking services they need to live and work.''
Otago Regional Council chairman Stephen Woodhead, of Lovells Flat, yesterday raised the issue of volunteer groups in the area being affected, as they often required multiple signatories to carry out financial transactions at a branch and not all could travel to the nearest town.
He would work with the Clutha District Council to do all he could to fight for the branch.
An ANZ spokesman did not respond to a request for further comment yesterday.
