Westpac to shift gears on business banking, new CEO says

Westpac will focus on making further inroads into business banking under the reign of incoming boss Anthony Miller, who is replacing Peter King as chief executive at the lender.

Miller, who will succeed King on December 16 after the bank’s annual general meeting, said he saw opportunities for growth in the agriculture, education, professional services and healthcare sectors.

“It does help that I’ve got a long background in small businesses in terms of ownership of, and working in them with the family, so I think that’s something that resonated with the board … that connection I have with it, and the empathy for it,” Miller said.

Anthony Miller has been appointed Westpac’s new chief executive. Credit: Peter Rae

“It’s definitely an area where I think Westpac … had the best institutional and the best business bank, and so I think there are opportunities for Westpac to continue to grow safely in those areas.”

Miller joined Westpac in 2020 as head of its institutional bank and was appointed as chief executive of the business and wealth division last year. He is a former chief executive of Deutsche Bank in Australia and New Zealand. He also spent 16 years at Goldman Sachs.

Jason Yetton, the head of consumer banking at Westpac.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Miller was chosen ahead of Jason Yetton, the head of consumer banking at Westpac.

He is the second business banker to be promoted to the head of a Big Four bank this year, after NAB appointed Andrew Irvine as chief executive following Ross McEwan’s resignation, in a sign of the significance of the division to banks as fierce competition for retail customers erodes their profit margins.

In announcing his appointment, chairman Steven Gregg pointed to Miller’s family as small business owners, and his two siblings who both competed in the Olympics at Sydney 2000. Miller’s sister, Gail Miller, won a gold medal in women’s water polo, while his brother, Paul Miller, competed in boxing.

“The board conducted a global search to find Westpac’s new CEO, and we appointed Anthony knowing he brings the right mix of his banking experience, courageous and inspiring leadership, and a customer focus,” Gregg said.

“The unanimous vision of the board is that he has experience, vision and ambition for this role.”

King, who spent close to five years at the helm of Westpac, said now was the right time to retire after he had simplified the bank, improved its risk management and returned it to growth. He halved the prudential regulator’s 2019 capital add-on charges for the bank amid corporate governance concerns to $500 million. On Monday he said cultural changes took time to fully flow through an organisation.

Peter King, right, will retire after five years at the helm of Westpac and hand the baton to Anthony Miller. Credit: Peter Rae

“Our people understand risk and proactively manage it, and we’re good at getting things done,” King said. “But when you strip it back, it’s about culture and culture takes time to change. I’m really pleased with the steps we’ve made.”

Miller will be tasked with further improving corporate governance at Westpac, which is under investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority over allegations its mortgage broking subsidiary, RAMS Home Loans, “conducted business with unlicensed persons and [gave] misleading information”.

Westpac last month announced it was effectively closing the RAMS business and King on Monday said the bank had processes in place that were focused on good outcomes for customers, and that it was not afraid to make the “hard decisions” when needed.

Miller will receive a fixed salary of $2.5 million, plus short and long-term bonuses. UBS banking analysts said they viewed the appointment as positive for Westpac.

“We think Miller is well regarded internally at the bank and externally by key stakeholders, including major shareholders,” they said.

Shares in Westpac closed 0.7 per cent weaker at $31.87.

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