Why westpac

But he also recognised it needed to do much better, including reining in spending. Cost pressures in the second half ended September 30 were intense, as Westpac had to hire more staff to clean up its compliance and risk management.

The bank hired an additional full-time equivalents FTEs , with of those deployed to support its risk and compliance functions after a series of missteps including the AUSTRAC debacle and issues discovered by prudential regulators in Australia and New Zealand. Margins were lower, as Westpac chased growth by offering customers lower rates.

The bank plans ongoing growth in mortgages based on more digital origination, as it reduces branch numbers and the number of products given a broad simplification program. The 9 per cent rise in FTEs has seen staff numbers at the bank rise from 36, to 40, Westpac said it had completed, submitted and closed issues identified by a program of uplift or around one-third of the total. Westpac does not expect to complete the program until Mr King said the bank expected costs to begin reducing over this year as the benefits of its simplification program started to flow through.

Credit: Darrian Traynor. As regulators seek to dampen the red-hot property market through curbs on mortgage lending , Mr King added the bank expected house prices to rise further next year, albeit at a slower pace.

On the economy, Mr King predicted growth would rebound over the year ahead as NSW and Victoria re-opened up from lockdowns and households dipped into large savings balances. Connect with Karen on Twitter. Email Karen at karen.

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