Is Westpac feeling the heat already from last week’s decision to lift home loan rates by a market leading 0.45%?
After the changes last week, Westpac’s standard home loan rate is the second highest behind that on offer from its subsidiary, St George.
Westpac’s standard variable home loan rate (SVR) currently stand at 6.76% at Westpac, 6.66% at ANZ, 6.61% CBA and 6.49% at NAB.
The Westpac-owned St George Bank lifted its standard rate by 0.39% to 6.68%.
Mr Hanlon had to sell the change at Westpac last week and he did so in a fitful way. Mrs Kelly and the rest of the bank’s board and management were nowhere to be seen.
Yesterday, the bank revealed that Peter Hanlon, its retail and business banking head, has been appointed group executive for people and transformation, responsible for modernising the system and processes in place to serve customers.
The move is an effective demotion, moving him down one rung in reporting levels from the chief executive, Gail Kelly.
Rob Coombe, former CEO of Westpac’s 60% funds management arm, BT Financial Group, will replace Mr Hanlon as group executive for retail and business banking.
Mr Coombe’s only retail experience was at BT where he was head of its retail business, before being promoted to replace David Clarke, who departed in 2004.
When he was promoted to head of BT, he was touted as a possible replacement for then CEO, David Morgan.
That never happened and Mrs Kelly was head-hunted from St George.
But some media reports claimed that Mr Hanlon, Mr Coombe and Mr Cooper were all in the running to replace CEO Gail Kelly.
"We have established a multi-brand business model with the successful merger with St George, and we have built a strong one-team culture," chief executive Gail Kelly said in the statement yesterday.
"The next phase of our transformation lies in significantly strengthening our focus on customers, people and productivity."
Westpac said Mr Hanlon would be responsible in his new role for the customer and productivity elements of the transformation program as well as corporate affairs and sustainability.
Brad Cooper, who led the St George integration, will replace Mr Coombe as chief executive of BT Financial Group.
All appointments take effect on February 1.
"The newly created role of Group Executive, People and Transformation will include the key customer, people and productivity elements of our Transformation program. It also includes Corporate Affairs & Sustainability," Mrs Kelly said.
“Peter Hanlon is the ideal choice for this important role, with his broad strategic capability and his deep involvement in the development and implementation of our distribution strategy.
"Peter has been key to the excellent performance of our Westpac Retail & Business Bank, managing the significant investment and roll out of our local branch and bank manager strategy, and achieving strong growth in cross-sell and market share,” Mrs Kelly said in the statement yesterday.
The bank said Mr Coombe was Chief Executive, BT Financial Group for five years, during which the BT Financial Group has established leading retail market share and developed sector-leading platforms, including through the addition of Asgard.
"He has also led the development of BT’s innovative Super for Life product and has driven industry-leading cross sell levels of wealth and insurance products into The Westpac Group distribution channels."
“Over the past 18 months, Brad Cooper has successfully led the St.George integration, as well as playing a pivotal role in the design and first phase of our Transformation.
"With his extensive financial services experience, including as Chief Executive, Westpac New Zealand, and before that as Chairman GE Capital Bank and CEO of GE Money’s UK and Ireland business, Brad is well placed to lead BT Financial Group through the next period,” Mrs Kelly said in the statement.
“The appointments being announced today will provide fresh focus and energy to the executive team. Peter, Rob and Brad are seasoned executives who bring deep experience to their new roles,” she added.
That can be a strength if change has to be made, but from what Westpac said yesterday in the statement and in a separate presentation on its strategy update, the changes seem more than a little out of place.
Why they had to be made yesterday isn’t clear.
In the briefing Westpac, especially Mrs Kelly spoke a lot about how Westpac had a "Customer centric strategy", a phrase that was mentioned extensively by each of the briefing executives.
Mrs Kelly said in her overview yesterday that the first stage in the "transformational strategy was complete for Westpac and St George.
The highlights of this, she said in her presentation were " Clear vision and strategy – putting customers at the centre; Operating model established; St.George merger – transforming the Group; Multi-brand platform providing customer choice; Significant investment in distribution, particularly via Westpac Local; Technology – enhanced reliability, 5 year strategy and roadmap established.
She said the sec
