Westpac Bank In Australia Releases It’s 2024 Annual Financial Report, Just A Day Into 2025. Very Fast Trend
The Oasis Reporters
January 2, 2025
Just one day into the new year, Westpac Banking Corporation, also known as Westpac, an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney, New South Wales has released it’s financial statement for year 2024 already.
Such an amazing speed.
Westpac declared A$21.59billion as operating income and A$6.99 billion as net income with A$1.06 trillion as total assets.
It’s total equity is A$71.55 billion.
The bank has a staff strength of 35,240 to service all it’s customers in Australia, New Zealand and other customers worldwide.
Even when a Bank’s financial figures are ready just a day after the new year in Nigeria, they have to wait for regulatory checks from the Central Bank, the Securities and Exchange Commission before the figures can be released to the media. This may take about a month or two. The regulators must have their own reasons for the delay. Maybe to check manually again, who knows?
Ordinarily, practically all the IT tools in Westpac are available in Nigerian banks.
An Australian and New Zealand used to be in Nigeria as Grindlays Merchant Bank (an ANZ bank many years ago.
They sold their Africa holdings to Standard Bank of South Africa and became Stanbic Bank. With a partnership between it and Investment Banking and Trust Company (IBTC) then belonging to Atedo Peterside, it became StanbicIBTC in Nigeria.
In talking about Westpac, it held the 53rd position in the “Top 1000 World Banks In 2022.
Pretty big, wouldn’t you rather say?
But it was established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commercial Bank of Australia in 1981 before being renamed to Westpac Banking Corporation in 1982.
The oldest Nigerian bank, First bank of Nigeria is relatively younger, having been established in 1894, a clear 77 years after Westpac. Some of the Nigerian banks like Zenith Bank Plc that are making waves today are in some cases, established around 1990 or thereabouts. The use of robust technology has made Nigeria’s new generation banks to stand shoulder high and be at par with much older banks, perhaps surpass some of them.
Westpac is one of Australia’s Big Four banks, and is Australia’s first and oldest banking institution. Its name is a portmanteau of “Western” and “Pacific”.
As of 2024, Westpac had 13 million customers worldwide, with around 35,000 people in it’s employ.
Here’s the Chairman’s report: The Board is building on Westpac’s strong financial and risk foundations, guiding the organisation through its next strategic growth phase to achieve sustainable shareholder returns.
Dear fellow shareholders,
In my first year as Chairman, I am proud of the progress we have made in supporting our customers and shareholders.
We are beginning to see the benefits
of several crucial years spent simplifying the bank and strengthening our risk practices and culture.
Performance
By focusing on our core banking markets, we grew the business while navigating a year of below trend
economic growth in Australia and New Zealand.
The economy was impacted by higher interest rates, elevated cost of living and inflationary pressures along with
geopolitical uncertainty.
Our balance sheet remained strong and the financial performance was steady. Profit after tax was $7.0 billion,
a decline of 3% on a statutory basis.
This resulted in a
modest decline in return on tangible equity (ROTE) to 11%, which remains well above our cost of capital.
Importantly, our capital position, funding and liquidity all remain above regulatory minimums.
This strong capital position allowed us to announce additional capital returns through a combination of $2.0 billion of share buybacks, following the $1.5 billion previously announced buyback and a $500 million special dividend.
The special dividend declared for the first time since 2013 was 15 cents per share in the First Half of 2024.
In addition, ordinary dividends were increased by 6% to $1.51 in fully franked dividends per share for the
year, including a final ordinary dividend of 76 cents per share.
This equates to a payout ratio of 73% of Profit after Tax, excluding Notable Items.
The combination of dividends, both ordinary and special, and share
price accretion has led a total shareholder return for the
year of 58%.
Our elevated cost-to-income ratio to peers is intended to be addressed through the UNITE program to create
a sustainable, cost efficient technology environment to support long term value.
The program requires significant
investment with benefits expected over the medium term.
The Board recognises the critical importance of open and constructive dialogue with government and regulators.
We are dedicated to maintaining strong relationships to not only meet our obligations but to support our shared
goal of maintaining the resilience and stability of the Australian financial system. This commitment is reflected
in the positive risk outcomes and progress achieved through Westpac’s Integrated Plan delivered under the
Customer Outcomes and Risk Excellence (CORE) program.
We believe this has been pivotal in restoring trust and facilitating the reduction in the operational risk
capital overlay.
CEO appointment
In September, I was delighted to announce that the Board appointed Anthony Miller as Managing Director and CEO of Westpac, effective 16 December 2024.
Anthony is an experienced banking executive who possesses a strong
customer mindset, proven record of performance and deep understanding of the Australian market.
Since joining Westpac in 2020, Anthony has held two leadership positions, including leading the Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB) and Business & Wealth segments which he restored to growth.
Prior to Westpac, he spent four years as CEO of Australia/New Zealand at Deutsche Bank and 16 years at Goldman Sachs in Australia and Asia.
His knowledge of Westpac and the industry, combined with his strong performance, gives the Board confidence in his ability to deliver our strategy.
Internal succession also supports a smooth transition to build on our
operating momentum.
I would like to thank Peter King for his significant contribution to Westpac over the past 30 years. During his five years as CEO, Peter has steered the organisation through the impacts of COVID-19 and led a comprehensive
overhaul of its risk management and governance. This is a key part of Peter’s legacy.
Peter also dramatically simplified Westpac by divesting 10 businesses to set a clear focus on growing our core
banking segments.
He led important advocacy
Just one day into the new year, Westpac Banking Corporation, also known as Westpac, an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney, New South Wales has released it’s financial statement for year 2024 already.
Such an amazing speed.
Westpac declared A$21.59billion as operating income and A$6.99 billion as net income with A$1.06 trillion as total assets.
It’s total equity is A$71.55 billion.
The bank has a staff strength of 35,240 to service all it’s customers in Australia, New Zealand and other customers worldwide.
Even when a Bank’s financial figures are ready just a day after the new year in Nigeria, they have to wait for regulatory checks from the Central Bank, the Securities and Exchange Commission before the figures can be released to the media. This may take about a month or two. The regulators must have their own reasons for the delay. Maybe to check manually again, who knows?
Ordinarily, practically all the IT tools in Westpac are available in Nigerian banks.
An Australian and New Zealand used to be in Nigeria as Grindlays Merchant Bank (an ANZ bank many years ago.
They sold their Africa holdings to Standard Bank of South Africa and became Stanbic Bank. With a partnership between it and Investment Banking and Trust Company (IBTC) then belonging to Atedo Peterside, it became StanbicIBTC in Nigeria.
In talking about Westpac, it held the 53rd position in the “Top 1000 World Banks In 2022.
Pretty big, wouldn’t you rather say?
But it was established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commercial Bank of Australia in 1981 before being renamed to Westpac Banking Corporation in 1982.
The oldest Nigerian bank, First bank of Nigeria is relatively younger, having been established in 1894, a clear 77 years after Westpac. Some of the Nigerian banks like Zenith Bank Plc that are making waves today are in some cases, established around 1990 or thereabouts. The use of robust technology has made Nigeria’s new generation banks to stand shoulder high and be at par with much older banks, perhaps surpass some of them.
Westpac is one of Australia’s Big Four banks, and is Australia’s first and oldest banking institution. Its name is a portmanteau of “Western” and “Pacific”.
As of 2024, Westpac had 13 million customers worldwide, with around 35,000 people in it’s employ.
Here’s the Chairman’s report: The Board is building on Westpac’s strong financial and risk foundations, guiding the organisation through its next strategic growth phase to achieve sustainable shareholder returns.
Dear fellow shareholders,
In my first year as Chairman, I am proud of the progress we have made in supporting our customers and shareholders.
We are beginning to see the benefits
of several crucial years spent simplifying the bank and strengthening our risk practices and culture.
Performance
By focusing on our core banking markets, we grew the business while navigating a year of below trend
economic growth in Australia and New Zealand.
The economy was impacted by higher interest rates, elevated cost of living and inflationary pressures along with
geopolitical uncertainty.
Our balance sheet remained strong and the financial performance was steady. Profit after tax was $7.0 billion,
a decline of 3% on a statutory basis.
This resulted in a
modest decline in return on tangible equity (ROTE) to 11%, which remains well above our cost of capital.
Importantly, our capital position, funding and liquidity all remain above regulatory minimums.
This strong capital position allowed us to announce additional capital returns through a combination of $2.0 billion of share buybacks, following the $1.5 billion previously announced buyback and a $500 million special dividend.
The special dividend declared for the first time since 2013 was 15 cents per share in the First Half of 2024.
In addition, ordinary dividends were increased by 6% to $1.51 in fully franked dividends per share for the
year, including a final ordinary dividend of 76 cents per share.
This equates to a payout ratio of 73% of Profit after Tax, excluding Notable Items.
The combination of dividends, both ordinary and special, and share
price accretion has led a total shareholder return for the
year of 58%.
Our elevated cost-to-income ratio to peers is intended to be addressed through the UNITE program to create
a sustainable, cost efficient technology environment to support long term value.
The program requires significant
investment with benefits expected over the medium term.
The Board recognises the critical importance of open and constructive dialogue with government and regulators.
We are dedicated to maintaining strong relationships to not only meet our obligations but to support our shared
goal of maintaining the resilience and stability of the Australian financial system. This commitment is reflected
in the positive risk outcomes and progress achieved through Westpac’s Integrated Plan delivered under the
Customer Outcomes and Risk Excellence (CORE) program.
We believe this has been pivotal in restoring trust and facilitating the reduction in the operational risk
capital overlay.
CEO appointment
In September, I was delighted to announce that the Board appointed Anthony Miller as Managing Director and CEO of Westpac, effective 16 December 2024.
Anthony is an experienced banking executive who possesses a strong
customer mindset, proven record of performance and deep understanding of the Australian market.
Since joining Westpac in 2020, Anthony has held two leadership positions, including leading the Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB) and Business & Wealth segments which he restored to growth.
Prior to Westpac, he spent four years as CEO of Australia/New Zealand at Deutsche Bank and 16 years at Goldman Sachs in Australia and Asia.
His knowledge of Westpac and the industry, combined with his strong performance, gives the Board confidence in his ability to deliver our strategy.
Internal succession also supports a smooth transition to build on our
operating momentum.
I would like to thank Peter King for his significant contribution to Westpac over the past 30 years. During his five years as CEO, Peter has steered the organisation through the impacts of COVID-19 and led a comprehensive
overhaul of its risk management and governance. This is a key part of Peter’s legacy.
Peter also dramatically simplified Westpac by divesting 10 businesses to set a clear focus on growing our core
banking segments. He led important advocacy work to protect customers from scams and made significant
improvements in our digital technology for customers and our people.
.
