News Articles for Westpac Banking Corporation

The Reserve Bank of Australia's stance on rates may be getting a little less neutral after Australian economic growth fell well short of the central bank's own downgraded forecast.

Australia's current account deficit has narrowed 33 per cent to $7.2 billion in the three months to December as higher commodity prices boosted the value of exports.

Westpac is facing a class action for allegedly approving home loans to people who had no prospect of paying them back.

Australia's number two lender, Westpac, has reported first-quarter unaudited cash earnings of $2.04 billion, with natural disaster insurance claims rising and mortgage delinquencies edging higher.

The panel tasked with reviewing the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority will be led by former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Graeme Samuel and includes Wesfarmers non-executive director Diane Smith-Gander.

NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn and chairman Ken Henry are stepping down, becoming the highest-profile banking casualty of the financial services royal commission.

National Australia Bank chief executive Andrew Thorburn says he is "more determined than ever" to lead the bank despite strong criticism from Kenneth Hayne in his final royal commission report.

Some of Australia's bank chiefs remain unwilling to accept responsibility for poor conduct, royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne says.

National Australia Bank is scrapping its overhauled executive pay structure in response to an overwhelming first strike in which more than 80 per cent of shareholders voted against it.

Westpac shareholders have handed the bank a first strike on executive pay in protest over bonus cuts they say did not go far enough.

Westpac has been fined $3.3 million for unconscionable conduct in the way its traders handled a key rate for several years.

Australia's banking regulator wants to further lift banks' capital requirements in order to strengthen the financial system's ability to cope with shocks.

Westpac has reported a flat full-year profit of $8.07 billion after customer compensation and legal costs contributed to a weak second half at its consumer and wealth divisions.

Commonwealth Bank will sell its asset management arm to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group for $2.9 billion in a surprise sale, the latest business to be sold by an Australian financial giant amid unprecedented regulatory scrutiny.

Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn has spoken face-to-face with customers affected by the kind of misconduct revealed at the banking royal commission.

WA organisations as varied as Landgate, RAC and Bankwest are becoming case studies for corporate innovation.

Commonwealth Bank and ANZ have become the latest major banks to lift their home loan interest rates, with both institutions blaming rising international borrowing costs.

Westpac has agreed to pay a $35 million fine after admitting to wrongly assessing people's ability to repay mortgages.

For every winner there's a loser, and so it will be the case if the $A continues its downward trajectory.

The Royal Automobile Club of WA today announced that current group chief executive Terry Agnew will step down in March 2019 after 20 years in the role.

Investors seem unconcerned by the fallout from the banking royal commission, with banks' shares rising despite the flood of bad news.

Construction company SHAPE Australia has ridden the surge in office building revamps, resulting in two awards and its highest revenue in five years.

Australia's corporate watchdog has started legal action against Westpac over poor financial advice provided by one of the bank's former financial planners, Sudhir Kumar Sinha.

Three of Australia's big four banks have begun rolling out their new $1 billion payment system that allows customers to transfer funds between rival institutions in near real-time.

Australia's major banks are under mounting pressure today, with a draft report from the Productivity Commission raising doubts about competition levels as regulators apply more scrutiny to three of the 'big four'.

Financial advisers at the big banks have been found to be biased towards their employer's products, which in some cases has left their customers worse off.

Fortescue Metals Group has been included in a worldwide gender equality index created by data services giant Bloomberg.

Westpac Bank has absorbed the Western Australian business banking operations of its wholly-owned subsidiary St George Bank, adding to a string of changes in the sector.

Australian shares have opened stronger thanks to a lift in some commodity prices and fresh gains on Wall Street overnight.

The share market has edged higher due to modest gains in most sectors, while the Reserve Bank's concerns about slow wages growth have driven the Australian dollar to a five-month low.

The Australian share market has closed lower after sharp falls in oil and base metal prices weighed on energy and mining companies.

Treasurer Ben Wyatt has kept open the possibility of a bank tax in Western Australia, after South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill today quietly dropped his state's planned tax on the five biggest financial institutions.

US-focused Alexium International Group has announced the appointment of two Australian non-executive directors, Claire Poll and Susan Thomas, while chairman Gavin Rezos will be retiring as of May 2018.

The Australian share market has closed slightly lower, dragged back by two of the big four banks - ANZ and Westpac - trading ex-dividend.

The Australian share market has opened lower as two of the four big banks trade ex-dividend, and following a largely negative lead from Wall Street.

The local share market has opened lower following negative sentiment in the US overnight where falls in technology stocks weighed on Wall Street.

The Australian market has opened lower, with most sectors in the red following a flat US lead, but local shares remain above the psychologically important 6,000 point mark.

The Australian share market has finished the session in negative territory, with declines in the big banks and the materials sector offsetting a day of strong gains for local oil stocks.

Westpac has lifted its full-year profit 3 per cent to $8.062 billion, boosted by 6 per cent growth in Australian mortgages.

Westpac is refunding about $65 million to 200,000 customers who did not receive discounts on insurance and other products to which they were entitled.