Westpac Bank’s million dollar investment in Darwin’s past and future
One of the big four has admitted to mistakes as it opened a revamped business centre in the heart of Darwin. SEE INSIDE THE SPACE.
Northern Territory
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One of the Territory’s oldest buildings has just had a million dollar upgrade.
Big-four banker Westpac invested a million dollars upgrading the second floor of its historic Darwin CBD headquarters to develop a new business banking centre in the heart of town.
The upgrades include a 12-seat boardroom with AV facilities for customers to meet, smaller meeting rooms and workstations for small-to-medium businesses and banking teams.
As well, a swag of asbestos was removed from the famous old building that was rebuilt after being bombed in World War II.
Wartime era features such as bullet holes in banking infrastructure have been retained.
In Darwin for the launch on Tuesday, Westpac’s general manager of commercial banking Shane Howell said the development would consolidate all the bank’s functions under the one roof.
“One of the key things with this site is not only the business banking centre upstairs, but retail bankers downstairs, small business and support teams,” Mr Howell said.
“Everyone’s in one shop.”
Westpac’s Berrimah banking centre closed its doors two years ago, meaning a new premises was required for the important customer-focused function.
“Upstairs cost a million dollars and we spent more downstairs so it’s in excess of $2 million we’ve spent,” Mr Howell said.
“It’s not just about business banking. You can be up here talking about your small business, and then you can walk downstairs and withdraw cash.”
Mr Howell’s visit also came with an admission that Westpac’s past banking practices, such as the sudden closure of the bank’s Tennant Creek branch in 2022, came with a cost.
“Westpac hasn’t always got it right and for us, getting back into regional, rural and face-to-face banking is a big driver for us now,” he said.
“Imagine relationship banking as a concept and who would have thought that would work?
“It’s great for us to finally consolidate this site back to what it was, and to respect the history of Westpac’s representation in Darwin, which has stood the test of time for 85 years.”
Mr Howell said Westpac’s business investment in the NT increased 20 per cent last year, on the back of a 73 per cent surge in agriculture, 32 per cent in wholesale trade and 21 per cent in construction.
“In terms of scale, Westpac invested a billion dollars of direct capital in the Northern Territory across a range of sectors,” he said.
NT Business Minister Robyn Cahill welcomed Westpac’s CBD consolidation.
“I think there’s probably not a person that you’ll speak to who doesn’t find it really frustrating trying to deal with a bank these days,” Ms Cahill said.
“What’s long overdue is banks realising that customer focused banking is really where it’s at, and congratulations to Westpac for realising that. How fantastic they’ve actually made this investment and making it so much easier for Territorians and business generally, it’s great to see.”
Originally published as Westpac Bank’s million dollar investment in Darwin’s past and future
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