Westpac

Westpac Banking Corporation, also known 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 2025, 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 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:

1984: The original agreement between BNSW and the government in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands expired and Westpac and the government of Kiribati formed the Bank of Kiribati as a 51–49% joint venture. Bank of Kiribati also fulfilled the functions of a reserve or central bank.
1985: Westpac replaced Barclays in the National Bank of Tuvalu in Tuvalu, taking 40% of the shares as well as a 10-year management contract.
1988: the firm acquired the European Pacific Banking Corporation in the Cook Islands and a HSBC subsidiary, the Solomon Islands Banking Corporation, which HSBC had established as a branch in 1973. Westpac also acquired HSBC's operations in Fiji and the New Hebrides, and established a branch in Niue that is the only bank in that country..
1990: Bank of New Zealand sold half its shares in Bank of Tonga to Westpac and half to Bank of Hawaii, giving each of them 30%. Westpac bought Banque Indosuez's operations in New Caledonia and Tahiti.
1992: Westpac recorded a 1.6 billion dollar loss, which at the time was the largest loss for an Australian corporation. In the process the firm came close to insolvency, and slipped from being Australia's largest to third-largest bank.
1995: Westpac sold its shares in National Bank of Tuvalu to that country's government, which now wholly owns the bank.
1995: Westpac acquired Challenge Bank.
1996: WBC Holdings NZ bought Trust Bank, a chain of regional banks owned by Community Trusts, for NZD1.2 billion to form NZ largest bank, WestpacTrust. The bank had promised to keep the funding to Community Trusts flowing and to keep "Trust" in its name. However, Community Trust funding slowed to a trickle, and in 2002 the bank launched a rebranding which included dropping the "Trust" from its name. The merger of WBC Holdings NZ and Trustbank also saw the closure of many branches around New Zealand. In towns and cities where both and Trustbank existed, the bank merged redundant branches into a single branch; also it closed many branches in rural areas and outer suburbs.
1996: Westpac sold Challenge Bank's Victorian assets to the Bank of Melbourne.
1997: Westpac acquired Bank of Melbourne in Victoria, paying an estimated price in excess of A$1.4 billion. Westpac retained the rights to the Bank of Melbourne name and logos, but in 2004 rebadged the branches as Westpac. In 2011, Westpac relaunched the brand.
1998: Westpac sold its operations in New Caledonia and Tahiti to Société Générale, which merged them with Société Générale Calédonienne de Banque and Banque de Polynésie respectively.
2001: The government of Kiribati sought to reduce Westpac's share in Bank of Kiribati from 51 to 49%, leading Westpac to sell its shares back to the government. Bank of Hawaii sold its interest in Pacific Commercial Bank to Westpac, which held an equal portion. Westpac offered Samoan investors, who held the remaining shares, the same price it had paid Bank of Hawaii. Westpac now owns 93.5% of Westpac Bank Samoa and Samoan companies and individuals own 6.5%. In Tonga, Bank of Hawaii sold its shares in Bank of Tonga to Westpac, giving Westpac 60% ownership of what is now Westpac Bank of Tonga.
2002: Westpac acquired BT and Rothschild Australia Asset Management.
2004: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand required Westpac to incorporate its NZ branches network. Westpac sold its branch in Niue to Bank of South Pacific.
2008: Former St George Bank CEO Gail Kelly appointed chief executive officer and managing director.
2008: Westpac announced that it intended to merge with the 5th largest Australian bank, St George Bank, for A$19 billion. The holders of about 95% of St George's shares voted in favor of the merger.
2008: On 17 November the Federal Court of Australia approved the merger of Westpac and St George.
2011: During July St George branches in the state of Victoria were rebadged as Bank of Melbourne branches.
In early February 2012, Westpac announced plans to axe more than 400 domestic jobs and another 150 offshore jobs. This action was a response to much slower growth over the past several years and the desire to rationalize following Westpac's 2008 merger with St. George Bank.
In 2014 Brian Hartzer was named CEO of Westpac.
2017: Westpac celebrated its 200th anniversary.
2020: In April Peter King was appointed CEO of Westpac, replacing Brian Hartzer.
2024: In September, Anthony Miller is appointed CEO of Westpac, succeeding Peter King.

Between 2015 and 2025 the group closed more than 400 branches, as well as all of its agencies, in Australia between its four bank brands, including 99 out of 106 Bank of Melbourne branches, and at least 100 regional branch closures. The figure does, however, include several branch co-locations where Westpac and a subsidiary such as BankSA or St George are brought together into one branch, and the other location being vacated. There are 111 co-located branches as of Westpac's 2024 annual report, up from 82 in 2023.

Executive leadership

Chief Executives

The following individuals have been appointed 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 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

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 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 centres.

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, Barclays, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Ukrsibbank, Deutsche Bank, and Scotiabank.

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.