Westpac has confirmed that former ANZ chief executive John McFarlane will lead the bank's effort to restore its reputation in the wake of the AUSTRAC scandal that claimed its chief executive Brian Hartzer and chairman Lindsay Maxsted.

The veteran banker who spent 10 years as the chief executive of ANZ and six years as the chairman of banking giant Barclays in the UK said the challenges the bank faced were similar to the crisis of confidence that enveloped British banks in the aftermath of the financial crisis and the insurance misselling scandal.