Westpac New Zealand (Westpac NZ)[i] says a solid full-year financial result puts it in a strong position to support customers, amid an uncertain economic environment.
Westpac NZ’s cash earnings[ii] were up 15% for the 12 months ended 30 September 2022, compared with the same period last year.
Excluding the sale of Westpac Life[iii] and other notable items, there was an underlying decrease in cash earnings of 2%.
Chief Executive Catherine McGrath said Westpac NZ had good positive momentum.
“We’ve sought to turn more Kiwis into customers through great service and competitive offers. This has translated into good growth in mortgage and business lending market share in the past six months.”
Customer focus
Ms McGrath said the result equips Westpac NZ to continue supporting customers.
“After a year of market volatility and rising living costs, many New Zealanders will be feeling uncertain about the future. We want our customers to know our bankers are here to offer help and solutions.”
She said Westpac NZ was stepping up its support for customers through a range of initiatives, including:
- Opening branches an additional 370 hours a week across the country.
- Increasing contact centre staffing to reduce call wait times and opening a new regional contact centre in Hamilton
- Increasing the number of specialist bankers for customers with complex needs requiring extra care
- Proactively reaching out to customers at risk of hardship, or who are about to experience large mortgage rates increases, to offer assistance with options.
“In May we pledged to open our branches 300 extra hours per week across the country to be there to talk to our customers, and in fact we’ve now gone beyond that to be open an extra 370 hours.
“We have also expanded our ‘Extra Care’ team, which focuses on customers in vulnerable circumstances – for example those with a serious illness.
