Westpac Banking Corporation, known simply as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commercial Bank of Australia in 1981 before being renamed to Westpac Banking Corporation in 1982. Westpac is one of Australia's Big Four banks, and is Australia's first and oldest banking institution. Its name is a portmanteau of "Western" and "Pacific". As of 2024, Westpac has 13 million customers worldwide, and employs around 35,000 people. In 2022, Westpac held the 53rd position in the "Top 1000 World Banks".

History

In 1982, Westpac Banking Corporation was formed by the merger of the Bank of New South Wales (BNSW) and the Commercial Bank of Australia. The new name, Westpac, was a portmanteau reflecting its mission of becoming a significant Western Pacific bank. The brand name incorporated the "W" that had been the logo of the Bank of New South Wales. Subsequent significant events:

Executive leadership

Chief Executives

The following individuals have been appointed to serve as chief executive:

Chairs of the Board

The following individuals have been appointed to serve as chairman of the board:

Core business activities

The structure involves five key divisions including: Consumer Bank, Commercial and Business Bank, BT Financial Group, Westpac Institutional Bank and Westpac New Zealand. These five divisions serve more than 13 million customers.

Consumer Bank

Consumer Bank is responsible for sales and service of its 9 million consumer customers in Australia, assisting them with their everyday banking needs. The division covers all consumer banking products and services under the Westpac, St George, BankSA, Bank of Melbourne and RAMS brands. Activities are conducted through the Consumer Bank's nationwide network of 877 branches, third-party distributors, call centres, 1,637 ATMs, EFTPOS terminals and internet banking services.

Business Bank

The Business Bank is responsible for sales and service of its small-to-medium enterprise, commercial and agribusiness customers in Australia, as well as asset and equipment finance and operates under the Westpac, St George Bank, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne brands. Business and corporate customers (businesses with facilities typically up to $150 million) are provided with a wide range of banking and financial products and services, including specialist advice for cash flow finance, trade finance, automotive and equipment finance, property finance, transaction banking and treasury services. Sales and service activities for business and corporate customers are conducted by relationship managers via business banking centres, internet and customer service centre channels.

BT

BT is the wealth management brand of the Westpac Group. Funds Management operations include the manufacture and distribution of investment, superannuation products and investment platforms including Panorama, BT Wrap and Asgard. Insurance solutions cover the manufacturing and distribution of life, general and lenders mortgage insurance.

Westpac Institutional Bank

Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB) delivers a broad range of financial services to commercial, corporate, institutional and government customers. WIB operates through dedicated industry relationship and specialist product teams, with expert knowledge in transactional banking, financial and debt capital markets, specialized capital, margin lending, broking and alternative investment solutions. Customers are supported through operations in Australia, New Zealand, the US, the UK, and Asian centers.

Westpac New Zealand

In 1861 the Bank of New South Wales opened seven branches in New Zealand. Westpac NZ offers a full banking service with around 1.5 million customers, and 196 branches nationwide. It is one of the big four banks in New Zealand and provides services to small to medium business, corporate and institutional organizations, and is the banker of the New Zealand government. As of June 2022, it was the third largest bank in New Zealand, with a market share of 19%. It is operationally separated from Westpac as required by the New Zealand Reserve Bank.

ATM Alliance

Westpac is a member of the Global ATM Alliance, a joint venture of several major international banks that allows customers of the banks to use their ATM card or check card at another bank within the Global ATM Alliance with no fees when traveling internationally. Other participating banks are Allied Irish Banks (Ireland), Barclays (in the UK, Spain and parts of Africa), Bank of America (US), BNP Paribas (France), Ukrsibbank (Ukraine), Deutsche Bank (in Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland), and Scotiabank (in Canada, Chile, Mexico among many other countries).

Westpac Migrant Banking

This unit of both the Australian and New Zealand Bank offers banking facilities to those migrating to either New Zealand or Australia. Bank accounts for migrants can be opened before people arrive in the country, and credit cards and mortgages can be approved before arrival. Westpac Migrant Banking has a representative office in London where accounts can be arranged, although the process can be done remotely from any country. Westpac planned to open a retail branch in London in 2011.

Westpac Pacific

Westpac operates in seven south Pacific nations; the unit is headquartered in Sydney. The financial services offered include electronic banking (via online banking, ATMs and EFTPOS), deposit, loan, transaction accounts and international trade facilities to personal and business customers. Westpac Fiji is Westpac's Fijian operation. It is one of the largest banks in the country and has a 40% market share.

Westpac Outstanding Women Awards

Westpac recognizes numerous professional women each year who are doing exceptional work in several sectors of the Papua New Guinea economy with the Westpac Outstanding Women Awards.

Banking Alliance for Women

Westpac Pacific Banking is a member of the Global Banking Alliance for Women, supporting initiatives in the Pacific to help women prosper and grow.

Reinventure

Westpac has committed $150m to the venture capital group Reinventure with the objective to increase the impact of technology in financial markets. The Westpac-backed firm has invested in start-ups like BrickX, OpenAgent and CodeLingo. Reinventure is mandated to invest independently of Westpac, unlike venture capital strategies led by other Australian banks.

Corporate responsibility

In 2002 Westpac released a social impact report that outlined the bank's plan to meet international standards in the area of corporate social responsibility. This led to Westpac's assessment as the global sustainability leader for the banking sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index from 2004 to 2007. Westpac has been criticised for backing logging operations on the Solomon Islands that destroy virgin rainforests. Because of this, the Australian Greens have called for the Banksia Awards to be withdrawn from Westpac. Westpac was one of the thirteen top ASX 20 companies to support the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum’s ‘Yes’ campaign.

Controversies

US Federal Reserve borrowings

In 2009, a Westpac-owned entity secured US$1.09 billion from the US Federal Reserve. Commentary suggests this was an unusual move for the bank, given its relatively minor position in North America. The borrowings by Westpac occurred at the height of the global financial crisis and were part of the Federal Reserve's move to stabilize financial markets globally. The public and government attention of the borrowings followed the release of the information by the Federal Reserve in 2010, not Westpac.

Funding of coal mining in New Zealand

Westpac came under criticism from 350.org for its role in funding mining company Bathurst Resources, which was permitted to mine coal on the Denniston Plateau, claiming that the mine would release up to 218 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Financial misconduct

Manipulation of benchmark interest rates

In April 2016, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission began legal proceedings against Westpac for manipulation of Australian benchmark interest rates, alleging that it had traded in a manner intended to create an artificial price for bank bills. It further alleged that Westpac was seeking to maximize profit or minimize its losses to the detriment of those holding opposite positions to Westpac. In November 2018, Westpac was fined the maximum penalty of $3.3m and ordered to pay legal costs.

Money laundering and child exploitation scandal

In November 2019, it was revealed that Westpac was alleged to have violated anti-money laundering, child exploitation and counter-terror finance laws. Westpac's CEO, Brian Hartzer, resigned in the wake of the scandal. According to Australian regulators, Westpac had 23 million anti-money laundering law violations, which is Australia's biggest ever anti-money laundering scandal to date. On 24 September 2020, Westpac and AUSTRAC agreed to a $1.3 billion penalty over Westpac's breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006. This is the largest fine ever issued in Australian corporate history.

Unsolicited sales campaign

In August 2021, Westpac was fined $10.5m for breaches to best interests duty after it provided personal financial product advice in calls to 14 customers in a sales campaign. The sales campaign aimed at rolling customers from their existing superannuation into Westpac superannuation products.

String of misconduct cases

In April 2021, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission launched six civil penalty proceedings against Westpac for alleged misconduct and widespread compliance failures. The six cases that were all settled by April 2022 are: Westpac was fined $113m total for the string of misconduct cases.

Insider trading and interest swap allegations

In May 2021, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) commenced proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia for allegations of insider trading and unconscionable conduct over a 2016 $12 billion interest swap rate transaction with AustralianSuper. In January 2024, ASIC dropped the insider trading allegation and Westpac was ordered to pay a $1.8m fine and an additional $8m to cover ASIC's litigation and investigation fees for unconscionable conduct.