Westpac law unto itself

WESTPAC was once described by the corporate regulator as the “most resistant” of the Big Four banks to Australia’s finance laws and accused of trying to keep misconduct quiet. The Australia Securities and Investments Commission expressed the views in notes drafted before a meeting with Westpac chairman Lindsay Maxsted (above) in 2015 and tendered to the banking royal commission yesterday.

ASIC met Mr Maxsted after repeatedly raising concerns about how Westpac was issuing credit card limit increases to customers. “There is a sense that they (Westpac) only tell us about is- sues when they think we are likely to find out about them through other means,” ASIC’s notes said.

Westpac ignored repeated requests from ASIC to improve its lending processes. ASIC was concerned Westpac was relying far too heavily on automation to verify if customers could afford increased credit limits, but the bank defied its guidance.

David Malcolm, Westpac’s general manager of credit, accepted the bank should have taken a different approach with the regulator but denied there was a cultural problem.