WestpacTrust boss seeks Kiwibank talks

By KEVIN TAYLOR

Talks with Kiwibank are high on the list of early jobs for WestpacTrust's new chief, and the state-owned banking newcomer says it welcomes an approach.

Ann Sherry, the first woman to head a New Zealand bank, said yesterday that she was interested in discussing banking services for people in remote areas.

"One of the ways of making sure that happens is for banks to at least talk to each other about what they are doing, so you don't find communities with no banking at all."

Asked if she wanted to generate business through Kiwibank - which already has a larger branch network than WestpacTrust - she said Kiwibank might not want to talk about that issue.

Talk of a possible alliance between the two was too strong, she said, and it was too early to make further comment.

"They are a key competitor and I'm interested in what they are doing," Sherry said.

Kiwibank spokesman Bruce Thompson said the bank already had a relationship with WestpacTrust through use of its money Machines.

"We would welcome the offer to discuss other opportunities with them.

Kiwibank, however, is still a small market player, although it has more than 63,000 customers and says it is continuing to sign up an average of 500 new ones a day. WestpacTrust has 1.3 million customers.

Sherry, a 47-year-old Australian who heads the Bank of Melbourne, starts her new role on November 11. She replaces Tom Gallagher, who resigned in May.

She will also head WestpacTrust's Pacific banking operations.

In total, Westpac's New Zealand and Pacific operations - which take in Papua New Guinea, Fiji and other small Pacific nations - is worth $38 billion.

She will be based in Auckland, and will run a bank which is also shifting key personnel to the city as it transfers head office functions.

Sherry said she was keen to increase WestpacTrust's share of the Auckland market.

"I think that's the big opportunity," she said.

"The challenge for us is to balance doing that while making sure we keep an eye on and keep a presence in all the other parts of New Zealand where we do have such strong market share."

She noted that WestpacTrust was also the Government's banker and the bank would maintain a strong Wellington presence.

"Both cities are important in the overall New Zealand market, along with some of the big regional centres, and the ability to move between them is going to be critical to doing business."

Sherry would not comment on a looming name change for the bank.

A recent leaked internal memo revealed the bank would soon announce the "Trust" would go from its name.

She said boosting customer satisfaction was high on her agenda.

The bank, being the country's biggest, should be number one and not languishing down the list in satisfaction surveys.

WestpacTrust accounts for 20 per cent of Westpac Banking Corporation's total profits. It has more than 5500 staff and has the largest branch network of any full-service bank in New Zealand, with about 200 outlets.


Further reading
nzherald.co.nz/kiwibank