Scotish bankers will be clocking up the frequent flyer points after two appointments at HBOS Australia, with Ian Corfield taking up his new role as chief executive retail in Perth and BankWest’s head of retail sales, Mark Reid, transferring to Sydney.
Mr Corfield, who officially takes up his new role later this month after transferring from the UK, will be in charge of HBOS’s national retail banking operation, which trades under the BankWest name.
One of his key challenges will be to accelerate growth on the east coast while protecting the group’s market share in its home state of Western Australia.
Part of that strategy is the transfer of Mr Reid, also a Scot, to the Sydney office.
HBOS Australia’s Sydney-based chief executive David Willis talked up the significance of Mr Reid’s transfer, saying the group’s success in attracting customers and growing profitably had given it the confidence to accelerate its growth strategy.
“In the past two years, we have opened more than 20 branches and business banking centres on the eastern seaboard and we will focus on increasing this physical presence and aggressively growing market share,” Mr Willis said in a statement.
Mr Reid took a different tack when he spoke to WA Business News, emphasising that he would continue to spend about three days a week in Perth.
He said the group had five retail branches on the east coast and planned to open more, but his main focus was to build the bank’s links with mortgage brokers, which account for most of its new home loans.
“The branches will complement the broker growth, not replace it,” Mr Reid said.
He added that the group was continuing to invest in its WA network by opening new branches and upgrading existing branches.
“The last thing we want to do is grow on the east coast at the expense of our WA customers,” Mr Reid said.
HBOS points to staff numbers to support the belief that its growth strategy is good news for both the east coast market and WA.
Since HBOS gained full ownership of BankWest in 2003, the group’s staff numbers have increased by nearly 35 per cent to 2,863 people (full-time equivalent).
Nationally the group, which includes financial services arm St Andrew’s, leasing arm Capital Finance and corporate banker BOS International, has increased staff numbers to 4,539 people (FTE).
The group continues to run most of its back-office functions from Perth, including its call centre, its core IT functions and its shared services division.
Conversely, its business banking activities are run from Melbourne under the leadership of chief executive corporate and business, Paul Clark.
Mr Corfield was previously executive director retail and intermediary for parent company HBOS plc’s Irish operation.
