Westpac

This article is about the bank. For the defunct airline, see Western Pacific Airlines.
Westpac Banking Corporation
Public
Traded as ASX: WBC
NZX: WBC
NYSE: WBK
Industry Banking, financial services
Predecessor Bank of NSW (est. 1817); Commercial Bank of Australia
Founded 1982 as Westpac
Headquarters Westpac Place, Sydney, Australia
Number of locations
1,429 branches
3,850 ATMs [1]
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Brian Hartzer (CEO and managing director)
Lindsay Maxsted (Chairman)
Products Finance and insurance, consumer banking, corporate banking, investment banking, investment management, global wealth management, private equity, mortgages, credit cards
Revenue Increase A$ 21.642 billion (2015)[2]
Increase A$ 08.012 billion (2015)[2]
Total assets Increase A$ 812.156 billion (2015)[2]
Number of employees
32,620 (2015)[1]
Slogan Australia Proudly Supported by Westpac
Website www.Westpac.com.au
www.Westpac.co.nz

Westpac Banking Corporation, more commonly known as Westpac, is an Australian bank and financial-services provider headquartered in Westpac Place, Sydney. It is one of Australia's "big four" banks. Its name is a portmanteau of "Western-Pacific".

As of November 2015, Westpac has 13.1 million customers, and is Australia's largest branch network, with 1429 branches and a network of 3850 ATMs. The bank is Australia's second-largest bank by assets.[1] It is also the second-largest bank in New Zealand.

On 29 January 2015, Bank of South Pacific announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Westpac's banking operations in Samoa, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga for A$125 million.

History

WBC headquarters in Sydney

Established in Sydney in 1817, the Bank of New South Wales (BNSW) was the first bank in Australia with Edward Smith Hall as its first cashier and secretary.[3] During the 19th and early 20th century, the Bank opened branches first throughout Australia and Oceania, at Moreton Bay (Brisbane) in 1850, then in Victoria (1851), New Zealand (1861), South Australia (1877), Western Australia (1883), Fiji (1901), Papua New Guinea (1910) and Tasmania (1910).

Westpac is formed

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 1,429 branches, third-party distributors, call centres, 3,850 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, 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 Financial Group

Main article: BT Financial Group

BT Financial Group (BTFG) is the wealth management arm of the Westpac Group, which, following the merger with St.George Bank Limited, also includes the wealth division of St.George.

BTFG designs, creates and distributes financial products that are designed to help its customers achieve their financial goals by administering, managing and protecting their assets.

Funds Management operations include the manufacture and distribution of investment, superannuation and retirement products, investment platforms including BT Wrap and Asgard, private banking, financial planning as well as equity capability and broking. 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, specialised capital, margin lending, broking and alternative investment solutions.

Customers are supported through operations in Australia, New Zealand, the US, the UK, and Asian centres.

Westpac New Zealand

In 1861 the Bank of New South Wales opened seven branches in New Zealand. Some of the old buildings still stand, including one in Oamaru and another in Tokomaru Bay. Today this unit offers a whole range of consumer and corporate services to clients throughout New Zealand. It is the dominant provider of banking services to small to medium business, corporate and institutional organisations, and is the banker of the New Zealand government.[8] Currently Westpac is the second largest bank in New Zealand, after the merger of ANZ and National Bank of New Zealand, with around 1.5 million customers, 3,000 shareholders and 197 branches nationwide.

On 29 September 2006 the New Zealand Commerce Commission forced Westpac to pay NZ$5.1 million for hidden foreign transaction fees; most of the fine is reimbursement to affected customers, in the order of 12% of the fees actually charged. All other banks operating in New Zealand have either already been fined or are awaiting a court case.[9]

In October 2009 Westpac Banking Corporation (New Zealand branch) was ordered to pay the Inland Revenue Department (New Zealand) NZ$961 million in avoided taxes.[10]

On 22 July 2014, Westpac publicly announced that they would pilot their host card emulation (HCE) mobile payments technology to customers. Westpac became the first bank in New Zealand to actively bring HCE mobile payments to market [11] and one of only a handful of banks globally to be using the innovative ‘digital wallet’ technology.

Westpac's three-month trial, which uses Carta Worldwide HCE technology, enables customers to securely store and access credit and debit card information in a remote and hosted ‘cloud’ environment, enabling customers to use their Android smartphones as digital wallets.

Soon after, in August 2014, Westpac NZ announced that it would be releasing the world's first augmented bank app,[12] which adds layers of functionality to the digital wallet by enabling users to check account balances, view previous spending behaviours, pay bills and locate their nearest Westpac NZ branch or ATM. The app is also viewable in a 3D format by supported devices.

Naming rights

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).[13][14]

Westpac branch in Suva, Fiji

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 using their easy account opening process. Credit cards and mortgages can even 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 plans to open a retail branch in London in 2011.[15]

Pacific Banking

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.

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.[16]

Corporate governance

Board of directors

Executive team

Controversy

Manipulation of benchmark interest rates

In 2016 Westpac was mentioned in a lawsuit by Australian Securities and Investments Commission for manipulation of Australian benchmark interest rates.[18]

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 was part of a Federal Reserve move to stabilise financial markets globally. The public and government attention of the borrowings followed the release of the information by the Federal Reserve in 2011, not Westpac.[19][20]

Funding of coal mining in New Zealand

Westpac has recently come under criticism from climate-change organisations in New Zealand for its role in funding mining company Bathurst, which has gained resource consent to mine coal on the Denniston Plateau on the West Coast of the South Island. Opponents have claimed that the mine will release up to 218 million tonnes of carbon dioxide,[21] which will worsen the already-noticeable effects of anthropogenic climate change, as well as significantly damage an important ecosystem. Westpac have largely ignored these claims, despite over one hundred customers leaving the company because of this issue.[22]

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.[23]

Westpac has been criticised for backing logging operations on the Solomon Islands that destroy virgin rainforests.[24] Because of this engagement, the Australian Greens have called for the Banksia Awards to be withdrawn from Westpac.[25]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Westpac – Fast Facts". Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Annual Report 2015" (PDF). Westpac Group. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  3. M. J. B. Kenny. "Biography - Edward Smith Hall - Australian Dictionary of Biography". Adb.online.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
  4. Westpac revives Bank of Melbourne: report, Business Spectator 10 March 2011.
  5. "St George and WBC sign merger deal". NEWS.com.au. 26 May 2008. Retrieved May 2008.
  6. "Westpac boss hints at more job cuts". 3 February 2012.
  7. "Westpac deploys Oracle for singular customer view". 4 February 2013.
  8. Archived 15 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. "Westpac to pay $5.1 million over credit card fees, Kiwibank joins list of companies facing charges". Commerce Commission. 29 September 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2007.
  10. Louisson, Simon (7 October 2009). "Westpac loses NZ Court Tax Case". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  11. "Westpac trialsTrials HCE Digital Wallet Technology", 22 July 2014.
  12. "Augmented Reality - world first for Westpac customers", 5 August 2014.
  13. "Five big banks form Global ATM Alliance", ATMmarketplace.com. 9 January 2002. Accessed 22 June 2007.
  14. "Accessing Money Overseas". Westpac. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
  15. "Westpac expands its presence in London". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
  16. Global Banking Alliance for Women, retrieved 2014-06-16
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
  18. Commission, c=au;o=Australian Government;ou=Australian Government Australian Securities and Investments. "16-110MR ASIC commences civil penalty proceedings against Westpac for BBSW conduct". asic.gov.au. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
  19. "Australian banks in secret U.S. Fed reserve bail-out..we didnt get told that! « Follow The Money". Seeker401.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
  20. "NAB, Westpac tapped Fed". The Age (Melbourne). 3 December 2010.
  21. http://350.org.nz/westpac/
  22. http://gofossilfree.org/nz/westpac-switch/
  23. Keating, B; Quazi, A; Kriz, A; Coltman, T (2008), "In pursuit of a sustainable supply chain: insights from Westpac Banking Corporation", Supply Chain Management: an International Journal 13 (3): 175–79
  24. Westpac backs logging project, 2012
  25. Westpac criticised over Solomons logging project, 2012

Further reading

External links

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