Status quo for Westpac

Westpac NZ will carry out its mainframe processing in New Zealand for the "foreseeable future" - a sign the Reserve Bank may get its way over banking regulation.

Chief information officer Ross Hughson said IBM would upgrade the ageing Auckland mainframes, used to process customer accounts, by October.

The Reserve Bank stopped IBM and Westpac transferring the processing of customer accounts and consolidating its mainframe operations in Australia, fearing it could make it harder for Westpac NZ to operate independently if its Australian parent failed. The decision to upgrade appears to reinforce the status quo.