Technology the focus for new Westpac boss

The heads of "customer facing business" - Westpac Retail & Business Banking, St George Banking Group and BT Financial Group - will now report directly to Hartzer as chief executive. Photo / File

New Westpac boss Brian Hartzer has stamped his authority in his first day as chief executive of the Australian banking group, in a shake-up that puts the potential achilles heel of technology front and centre.

However no significant changes were announced from predecessor Gail Kelly's strategy that delivered six years of strong shareholder returns.

Hartzer, aged 47, increased the number of people that report directly to him.

The head of technology, chief information officer Peter Curran, will now report to Hartzer after previously answering to chief operating officer John Arthur.

Hartzer made his own previous job redundant, abolishing the Australian Financial Services division created by Kelly for him to run, with a near Australian record sign-on bonus of more than A$7 million ($7.5 million) in shares.

That means the heads of "customer facing business" - Westpac Retail & Business Banking, St George Banking Group and BT Financial Group - will now report directly to Hartzer as chief executive.

"Given the changing ways customers are choosing to manage their finances, particularly through online, digital and mobile solutions, the technology function will be critical to us achieving our strategy," Hartzer said. "As such, it is appropriate that Dave Curran's role report directly to me."

Macquarie analysts warned last year that Westpac needed to spend A$3.7 billion to make up lost ground on rival Commonwealth Bank (CBA), which had spent five years replacing its core banking systems.

Morningstar senior analyst David Ellis said Westpac had invested in different areas of technology to CBA, such as user and front end systems.

"There are pluses and minuses, but the Commonwealth [Bank] believe they've got a competitive advantage over their peers and there is some external expectation that Westpac is going to have to spend significant amounts in the next few years on core banking technology."

Ellis pointed out that the bank was performing strongly, with the lowest loan loss record and cost-to-income (profitability) ratios of the major banks.

"I'm all for 'steady as she goes' and making tweaks not wholesale changes," he said.

Westpac's higher relative exposure to mortgages for investment properties has led to some calls that it reduce that risk.

Hartzer said among his key priorities for the bank were focusing more closely on being customer-centric, investing in technology, business banking and Asia.

- AAP