Westpac began as the Bank of New South Wales in 1817, making it Australia’s first bank and its oldest company. Here’s how it makes its money today.
Westpac Banking Corporation is one of Australia’s big four banks and one of the biggest companies on the ASX.
It opened in Sydney in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, making it Australia’s first bank and its oldest company. It changed its name to Westpac in 1982, after merging with the Commercial Bank of Australia. Its financial year ends on 30 September.
Home loans and brands
Like other banks, Westpac makes most of its money from net interest income, the gap between what it earns on loans and what it pays on deposits and other borrowing. That gap, measured as a percentage, is called the net interest margin.
Home loans are its biggest business. Westpac is the second-largest mortgage lender in Australia, and has long been heavily focused on households.
It merged with St.George Bank in 2008, and still runs St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA as separate brands. It also owns Westpac New Zealand, one of New Zealand’s biggest banks, and has a business bank and an institutional bank serving large companies.
In recent years, Westpac has been growing its business and institutional lending faster than home loans, to rely less on the highly competitive mortgage market. In August 2026, it sold the loans of RAMS, a home lending brand it had closed to new customers.
UNITE and the risks
Running several brands on many older computer systems is expensive. Westpac’s UNITE program is a multi-year overhaul to simplify the bank, moving customers onto fewer, modern systems to cut costs and reduce risk.
Westpac has also had to rebuild its reputation. In 2020, it agreed to pay a record $1.3 billion penalty after the financial crimes regulator AUSTRAC found it had breached anti-money laundering laws millions of times.
Anthony Miller, who previously ran its business and wealth bank, became chief executive in December 2024, replacing Peter King.
The risks include a housing downturn, rising unemployment, strong competition for home loans and deposits, cyber attacks, regulation and the cost and complexity of UNITE. Westpac’s dividends are fully franked, which makes its shares popular with Australian investors and super funds.
Latest results, as at 9 November 2026
Full year to September 2026, reported 2 November 2026: net profit fell 1 per cent to $6.8 billion. Without one-off items, it was flat at $7 billion. The net interest margin fell to 1.87 per cent from 1.94 per cent, reflecting competition.
Business lending grew 12 per cent and institutional lending 18 per cent. The money set aside for bad debts roughly doubled to $864 million, although Westpac said credit quality remained sound. It paid total dividends of $1.54 a share, fully franked.
Next update: Westpac reports its half-year results, to March 2027, in May 2027.
