Westpac shares plunge on cost pressures despite $3.5b share buyback

James Eyers and James Frost

Updated Nov 1, 2021 – 10.54am, first published at 7.54am

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Westpac’s shares have been savaged after it revealed growing cost pressures and a disappointing result from the institutional bank.

Investors sold Westpac shares, taking them 6 per cent lower in the first half-hour of Monday morning trading, as analysts probed the bank’s leadership about the root causes of a tight squeeze on its interest margins. At 3:15pm AEDT, the bank’s shares were down 6.5 per cent at $24.

James Eyers writes on banking, payments and fintech. He is a former legal and investment banking editor at the AFR, has degrees in commerce and law from UNSW, and is co-author of Buy now, pay later: The extraordinary story of Afterpay

James Frost writes about banking, funds management and superannuation. Based in Melbourne, James has been reporting on specialist business and finance topics for 15 years.