Westpac Banking Corporation, known simply as Westpac, is an Australian multinational

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

and

financial services Financial services are the economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, accountancy companie ...

company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commercial Bank of Australia in 1982 before being renamed to Westpac Banking Corporation. Westpac is one of Australia's

Big Four banks The Big Four (or Big 4) is the colloquial name given to the four main banks in several countries where the banking industry is dominated by just four institutions and where the phrase has thus gained relevance. Some countries include more or less i ...

, and is Australia's first and oldest banking institution. Its name is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words

History

Established in Sydney in 1817, the Bank of New South Wales (BNSW) was the first bank in Australia.

Edward Smith Hall Edward Smith Hall (28 March 1786 – 18 September 1860)M. J. B. Kenny,Hall, Edward Smith (1786–1860), '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 1, MUP, 1966. Accessed 27 May 2012 was a political reformer, newspaper editor and banker in ...

was its first cashier and secretary. During the 19th and early 20th century, BNSW opened branches first throughout Australia and Oceania: at

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

(Brisbane) in 1850; in Victoria in 1851; in New Zealand in 1861; in South Australia in 1877; in Western Australia in 1883; in Fiji in 1901; in Papua New Guinea in 1910; and in Tasmania in 1910. *1927: BNSW acquires the

Western Australian Bank The Western Australian Bank was a bank operating in Western Australia from 1841 to 1927. It was formed amidst the aftermath of the sale of the first Bank of Western Australia (1837-1841), which had sold out to the Bank of Australasia, as pro ...

. *1931: BNSW acquires the

Australian Bank of Commerce Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

*1968: BNSW joins the Databank Systems Limited consortium to provide joint data processing services. *1970: BNSW is listed on the

Australian Securities Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or confused within Australia a ...

on 18 July 1970. *1973: BNSW becomes the corporate sponsor of the Rescue Helicopter service started by Surf Life Saving Australia. The service is known today as the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service. *1974: The Bank of New Zealand (20%), BNSW (20%), Bank of Hawaii (20%), and the Government of Tonga (40%) establish the Bank of Tonga as a joint venture. *1975: BNSW incorporates its local business in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

as Bank of New South Wales (PNG). *1977: BNSW forms the Pacific Commercial Bank in Samoa as a joint venture with Bank of Hawaii, buying into Pacific Savings and Loan Company, in which Bank of Hawaii had had an ownership interest since 1971.

Westpac is formed

*1982: BNSW merged with the Commercial Bank of Australia and changed their name to Westpac Banking Corporation, with the mission to become a significant Western Pacific bank from which Westpac is derived. The brandname incorporated the "W" which had been the logo of the Bank of New South Wales (popularly known as "the Wales"). *1984: The original agreement between BNSW and the government in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands expired and WBC and the government of

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

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: WBC replaced

Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

in the National Bank of Tuvalu (est. 1981) in

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northea ...

(ex-Ellice Islands), 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 ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , langu ...

and a

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...

subsidiary, the Solomon Islands Banking Corporation, which HSBC had established as a branch in 1973. WBC also acquired HSBC's operations in Fiji and the

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...

, and established a branch in

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

that is the only bank in that country. (HSBC had established its branch in Fiji only some 18 months earlier). *1990: Bank of New Zealand sold half its shares in Bank of Tonga to WBC and half to Bank of Hawaii, giving each of them 30%. WBC bought Banque Indosuez's operations in New Caledonia and Tahiti. ( Banque de l'Indochine, which later merged into Banque Indosuez, had established itself in New Caledonia in 1888 and in

Papeete Papeete ( Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Papeete is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivisi ...

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Aust ...

in 1905. In both places l'Indochine functioned as the bank of issue until 1966–7.) *1992: WBC 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: WBC sold its shares in National Bank of Tuvalu to that country's government, which now wholly owns the bank. *1995: WBC acquired Challenge Bank. *1996: WBC Holdings NZ bought Trust Bank, a chain of regional banks owned by

Community Trusts A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place (geography), place, Norm (social), norms, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Identity (social science), identity. Communiti ...

, for

NZD The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; currency sign, sign: $, NZ$; ISO 4217, code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcair ...

1.2 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 and Trustbank also saw the closure of many branches around New Zealand. In towns and cities where both WBC and Trustbank existed, the bank merged redundant branches into a single branch; also it closed many branches in rural areas and outer suburbs. *1996: WBC sold Challenge Bank's Victorian assets to the Bank of Melbourne. *1997: it acquired Bank of Melbourne in Victoria, paying an estimated price in excess of A$1.4 billion. WBC 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: it sold its operations in New Caledonia and

to Société Générale, which merged them with

Société Générale Calédonienne de Banque Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

(est. 1971) and Banque de Polynésie (est. 1973), respectively. *2001: The government of Kiribati sought to reduce Westpac's share in Bank of Kiribati from 51 to 49%, leading WBC to sell its shares back to the government. Bank of Hawaii sold its interest in Pacific Commercial Bank (42.7%) to Westpac, which held an equal portion. WBC offered Samoan investors, who held the remaining shares, the same price it had paid Bank of Hawaii. WBC 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 WBC 60% ownership of what is now Westpac Bank of Tonga. *2002: WBC acquired BT and Rothschild Australia Asset Management. *2004: The

Reserve Bank of New Zealand The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ, mi, Te Pūtea Matua) is the central bank of New Zealand. It was established in 1934 and is constituted under the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989. The governor of the Reserve Bank is responsible for N ...

required WBC to incorporate its NZ branches network. WBC sold its branch in

to Bank of South Pacific. *2008: Former St George Bank CEO Gail Kelly appointed chief executive officer and managing director. *2008: WBC 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 The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...

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: WBC celebrated its 200th anniversary. *2020: In April, Peter King was appointed CEO of Westpac, replacing Brian Hartzer.

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 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

Westpac Building At Eastern End Britomart

In 1861 the Bank of New South Wales opened seven branches in New Zealand. Currently, Westpac NZ offers a full-service with around 1.5 million customers, 3,000 shareholders and 197 branches nationwide. It is the dominant provider of banking services to small to medium business, corporate and institutional organizations, and is the banker of the New Zealand government. As of June 2022, it is the third largest bank in New Zealand, with a market share of 19%. On 29 September 2006 the New Zealand Commerce Commission fined Westpac NZ$5.1 million for hidden foreign transaction fees, with most of the fine being reimbursement to affected customers, in the order of 12% of the fees actually charged. All other banks operating in New Zealand had either already been fined or were awaiting a court case. In October 2009, Westpac NZ was required to pay NZ$961 million to the

Inland Revenue Department (New Zealand) Inland Revenue or Inland Revenue Department (IRD; mi, Te Tari Taake) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on tax policy, collecting and disbursing payments for social support programmes, and col ...

in avoided taxes. On 22 July 2014, the firm announced that it would pilot a host card emulation (HCE) mobile payments technology to customers. It was the first bank in New Zealand to actively bring HCE mobile payments to market and one of only a handful of banks globally to be using the innovative 'digital wallet' technology. The three-month trial, using

Carta Worldwide Carta Worldwide is a Canadian financial technology company that offers digital payments technology and modern card issuer processing for banks and financial technology "fintech" companies. In addition to their Canadian headquarters in Toronto, Ca ...

HCE technology, enabled 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, which adds layers of functionality to the digital wallet by enabling users to check account balances, view previous spending behaviors, 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

* Westpac Stadium in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

from 2000 to 2019 * Westpac Halberg Award

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),

(in the UK, Spain and parts of Africa),

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...

(US),

BNP Paribas BNP Paribas is a French international banking group, founded in 2000 from the merger between Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP, "National Bank of Paris") and Paribas, formerly known as the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. The full name of the gro ...

(France),

Ukrsibbank UKRSIBBANK BNP Paribas Group is a commercial bank based in Ukraine. UKRSIBBANK has been operating in the Ukrainian market since 1990. It operates network of 260 branches and 1000 ATMs throughout Ukraine, for 2 million customers all around Ukraine ...

(Ukraine),

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

(in Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland), and

Scotiabank The Bank of Nova Scotia (french: link=no, Banque de Nouvelle-Écosse), operating as Scotiabank (french: link=no, Banque Scotia), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada ...

(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 card A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...

s 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 The Financial Alliance for Women (formerly the Global Banking Alliance for Women or GBA) is a non-profit organization working as an international consortium of financial institutions interested in the female economy. Its members work in more than ...

, 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.

Controversies

Manipulation of benchmark interest rates

In April 2016, the

Australian Securities and Investments Commission The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to pro ...

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 AUD$3.3m and ordered to pay legal costs.

US Federal Reserve borrowings

In 2009, a Westpac-owned entity secured US$1.09 billion from the US

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...

. 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 350.org is an international environmental organization addressing the climate crisis. Its stated goal is to end the use of fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy by building a global, grassroots movement. The 350 in the name stands fo ...

for its role in funding mining company Bathurst Resources, which was permitted to mine coal on the

Denniston Plateau Denniston Plateau (technically the Denniston-Stockton Plateau) is an 18 km long, 600–800 m high coalfield plateau in the Papahaua Range on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. A combination of impermeable rock, high rainfall, ...

, claiming that the mine would release up to 218 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

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 AUD$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: * Charged $10.9m in advice fees to 11,800 deceased customers for services that were not provided, fined $40m. * Distributed duplicate insurance policies to 7,000 customers for the same property and issuing insurance policies to 329 customers who had not consented, fined $15m. * Charged $10.6m in ongoing financial advice fees to at least 25,000 customers without disclosing these fees, fined $6m. * Charged fees to 21,000 deregistered company accounts, holding $120m in funds instead of remitting to ASIC or the Commonwealth, fined $20m. * Sold consumer credit card and flexi-loan debt to debt purchasers with incorrect interest rates, resulting in 16,000 customers being overcharged interest, fined $12m. * Charged 9,900 members insurance premiums that included commission payments which are banned, fined $20m. Westpac was fined $113m total for the string of misconduct cases.

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 Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethicall ...

. 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 criticized for backing logging operations on the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its ca ...

that destroy virgin rainforests. Because of this, the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and ...

have called for the Banksia Awards to be withdrawn from Westpac.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Banks of Australia Companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Banks established in 1817 Financial services companies based in Sydney Australian companies established in 1817