Australia: Westpac whirlwind sweeps up St George
What sort of bank will Westpac and St George be?
The combined bank will be Australia’s leading home lender, with a 25% market share; the leading overall lender, and the leading credit card provider. It will also be the largest wealth platform provider, with A$108 billion of funds under administration. It will have 1,200 branches and 2,700 ATMs, A$408 billion in loans and $299 billion of deposits, based on March 31 figures. According to data from the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority, also from March, the combined bank will not be a leader in every field, though: in corporate lending it will still lag National Australia Bank and ANZ, and it will trail Commonwealth Bank of Australia in household deposits.
Westpac had a pro-forma tier 1 ratio of 7.7% in the first half of 2008, with a recent investor presentation suggesting the post-merger capital position should be "at a similar level".
The group will have a range of brands. Apart from the Westpac and St George banking names, there will also be a South Australian group, BankSA, that was part of St George; and RAMS, a home lending brand purchased by Westpac in January this year.
