Westpac will lift lending to the defence industry from its new office in Germany, as the rearmament of Europe and higher military spending in Australia after Donald Trump’s election as US president creates opportunities for major banks to support national security projects.

“Defence is the fastest area of government spending, and the defence industry in Australia is growing rapidly,” said Nell Hutton, chief executive of Westpac’s institutional bank. “We have done a lot of work with government to make sure we understand where we can support the strategy.”