Westpac tips rate rise before pause

WESTPAC boss Gail Kelly expects another interest rate rise in the near term, before a pause.

WESTPAC chief executive Gail Kelly expects another interest rate rise in the near term, before a pause.

"I expect that we will see possibly another interest rate rise over the next period of time, the foreseeable future, and then I think they (Reserve Bank) will pause for a while," Mrs Kelly told reporters after a Trans-Tasman Business Circle luncheon.

Mrs Kelly also said that Westpac was very comfortable with its growth options, with a focus on the markets in Australia and New Zealand.

"We have a very clear focused strategy on our core markets, which is Australia and New Zealand," she said.

"In the medium term, we feel comfortable with the growth options that we have in terms of growing all our customers' business across all of the things we have and competing through our multi-brand world."