Westpac chief executive Peter King said the bank remains committed to operating with four banking brands but its future is in operating a “universal platform”.
The bank is on a mission to achieve a material reduction in its cost base and some of its recent initiatives in consumer and business banking are designed to create efficiencies by allowing all “group customers” to use the same services.
The bank has started co-locating branches, where Westpac and St George Bank customers, for example, can do their banking. It has 21 co-located branches and is looking at 100 more.
Speaking at an investor briefing yesterday, King said that from early next year Westpac, St George Bank, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne customers will be able to do their banking at any group bank.
The bank is working on a digital mortgage product, which it aims to have in the market this year. One platform will service all group customers.
The bank is also developing a personal financial management app, working with fintech MoneyBrilliant, which it acquired last year. It plans to launch the PFM later this year and, again, it will be offered to all group customers.
King said: “We have customers who have chosen St George or BankSA. We can keep the multi-brand offering but remove the duplication. We will taking further steps with this strategy.”
He said the adoption of a “digital first” approach allows the group to deploy new products and services across channels.
There were 11.1 million over-the-counter branch transactions in the March half-year, compared with 12.9 million in the previous corresponding period and 16.5 million in the March half 2020.
Over the same period, digital transactions rose from 267 million in the six months to March 2020 to 298 million in the March half 2021 and 334 million in the March half this year.