2017 Westpac Group Annual Report

WESTPAC GROUP
Annual Report 2017
2017 Westpac Group
Annual Report
Proudly
Supporting
Australia for
200 Years

On the 8th April 2017 Westpac reached a significant
milestone, celebrating its 200th anniversary.
For 200 years we have helped millions of customers across
Australia and New Zealand manage their finances and
realise their dreams. Much has changed since our company
first began but our commitment to helping our customers,
communities and people to prosper and grow remains at
the heart of everything we do.
Westpac Banking Corporation
ABN 33 007 457 141
The Westpac Group Annual Report,
Annual Review & Sustainability Report and
Sustainability Performance Report represent
Westpac’s extended reporting framework
and can be found online at
www.westpac.com.au/investorcentre.
ON THE COVER
Bank of New South Wales Sydney
office, 1853, and Barry McGuire,
Managing Director and co-founder
of Redspear Safety and Westpac
customer. Read Barry's story online
via the website address below.
This page
Barry McGuire and
Francois Witbooi from
Redspear Safety with
their local Westpac
business banker
Matt Turnbull.
2017 Westpac Group
Sustainability Performance
Report
Proudly
Supporting
Australia for
200 Years
2017 Westpac Group
Annual Review &
Sustainability Report
Proudly
Supporting
Australia for
200 Years
2017 Annual Review
& Sustainability
Report
2017 Sustainability
Performance
Report
WESTPAC GROUP
Annual Report 2017
2017 Westpac Group
Annual Report
Proudly
Supporting
Australia for
200 Years
2017 Annual
Report

Table of contents
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 1































In this Annual Report a reference to ‘Westpac’, ‘Group’,
‘Westpac Group’, ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ is to Westpac Banking
Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 and its subsidiaries unless it
clearly means just Westpac Banking Corporation.
For certain information about the basis of preparing the financial
information in this Annual Report see ‘Reading this report’ in
Section 2. In addition, this Annual Report contains statements that
constitute ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of
Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934. For an
explanation of forward-looking statements and the risks,
uncertainties and assumptions to which they are subject, see
‘Reading this report’ in Section 2.
Information contained in or accessible through the websites
mentioned in this Annual Report does not form part of this report
unless we specifically state that it is incorporated by reference and
forms part of this report. All references in this report to websites are
inactive textual references and are for information only.
Annual Report
Performance highlights 2
Section 1 3
Chairman’s report 4
Chief Executive Officer’s report 7
Information on Westpac 13
Business strategy 13
Outlook 16
Significant developments 17
Directors’ report 26
Remuneration Report 40
Section 2 69
Five year summary 70
Reading this report 71
Review of Group operations 73
Income statement review 75
Balance sheet review 80
Capital resources 84
Divisional performance 86
Consumer Bank 89
Business Bank 90
BT Financial Group (Australia) 91
Westpac Institutional Bank 93
Westpac New Zealand 94
Group Businesses 96
Risk and risk management 97
Risk factors 97
Risk management 105
Credit risk 106
Liquidity risk 106
Market risk 107
Operational risk and compliance risk 108
Other risks 109
Westpac’s approach to sustainability 112
Sustainability performance 112
Five year non-financial summary 117
Other Westpac business information 119
Section 3 121
Financial statements 122
Notes to the financial statements 128
Statutory statements 241
Section 4 253
Shareholding information 254
Additional information 266
Information for shareholders 270
Glossary of abbreviations and defined terms 274
Contact us inside back cover
1
2
3
4

Performance highlights
2 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report

0BNet profit after tax $7,990 million, up 7%

1BDividends $1.88, unchanged

2BCash earnings $8,062 million, up 3%

3BReturns 13.8%, down 22bps

4BCash earnings per ordinary share, up 2%

% change

2017 2016 2017 / 2016
Reported earnings

Net profit after tax
1
($m)
7,990 7,445 7%
Earnings per share

(cents)
238.0 224.6 6%
Dividends per share (cents)
188 188 –
Return on equity
5
(%)
13.6 13.3 33bps
Expense to income ratio

(%)
43.3 43.9 (65bps)
Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio (%)
10.6 9.5 108bps
Cash earnings basis
2


Cash earnings

($m)
8,062 7,822 3%
Cash earnings per share (cents)
239.7 235.5 2%
Cash earnings return on equity
5
(%)
13.8 14.0 (22bps)
Economic profit
7
($m)
3,774 3,774 –



Net profit attributable to ordinary equity holders.
1
The adjustments to our reported results to derive cash earnings are
2
described in Note 2 of our 2017 financial statements.
Figures for 2009 (and for cash earnings in 2008 only) are presented
3
on a ‘pro forma’ basis; that is, as if the merger between Westpac and
St.George Bank Limited was completed on 1 October 2007. The
basis of presentation of the pro forma results is explained in more
detail in Section 2.1 of Westpac’s Full Year 2009 Results
(incorporating the requirements of Appendix 4E) lodged with the ASX
on 4 November 2009 and that section of the ASX Announcement is
incorporated by reference into this Annual Report.
Cash earnings for 2009 has been restated to exclude the impact of
4
fair value adjustments related to the St.George merger. For further
information refer to Note 32 to the financial statements in Westpac’s
2010 Annual Report.
Return on average ordinary equity.
5
Periods prior to 2015 have not been restated for the bonus element
6
of the 2015 share entitlement offer.
Economic profit represents the excess of adjusted cash earnings
7
over a minimum required rate of return on equity invested. For this
purpose, adjusted cash earnings is defined as cash earnings plus the
estimated value of franking credits paid to shareholders. The
calculation of economic profit is described in more detail in Section 5
of Westpac’s Full Year 2017 Results (incorporating the requirements
of Appendix 4E) lodged with the ASX on 6 November 2017 (the
‘ASX Announcement’).
3,859
3,446
6,346
6,991
5,936
6,751
7,561
8,012
7,445
7,990
08091011121314151617
142
116
139
156
166
174
182
187
188188
20
08091011121314151617
5,047
4,675
5,879
6,301
6,564
7,063
7,628
7,820
7,822
8,062
08091011121314151617
22.3
14.0
16.1
16.0
15.4
15.9
16.4
15.8
14.0
13.8
08091011121314151617
198.3
163.7
197.8
209.3
214.8
227.8
245.4
248.2
235.5
239.7
08091011121314151617
Net profit after tax
1
($m)
Dividends per ordinary share (cents) Special dividends
Cash earnings
2,3,4
($m)
Cash earnings per ordinary share
2,3,4,6
(cents)
Cash earnings to average ordinary equity
2,3,4
(%)

Chairman’s report
Chief Executive Officer’s report
Information on Westpac
Directors’ report
(including Remuneration Report)
1

Chairman’s report
4 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report

Lindsay Maxsted
Chairman


It has been an extraordinary year for your company, with
some significant highs and some challenging lows.
Westpac’s 200 year anniversary was the highlight, marking
an important milestone for your company, and for Australia.
Few companies globally have reached this significant
milestone and to do so with perhaps our strongest ever
balance sheet, sound returns, and as the world’s most
sustainable bank, is something shareholders can be very
proud of. The low for the year has been the further
deterioration in the industry’s reputation and the imposition
of a new federal bank levy (Bank Levy) that has impacted
both the value and the returns from your investment in
Westpac. I will speak further on this below.
2017 performance
Our financial performance this year was sound with statutory
net profit up 7%, lifted by good growth across our banking
businesses and a gain on the further sell-down of our
investment in BT Investment Management of $279 million.
Cash earnings (our preferred measure of performance) for
the year ended 30 September 2017 was up 3% compared to
2016.
Growth across lending, deposits and funds under
administration was sound with margins lower, mostly in the
early part of the year. As a result, net interest income was
2% higher although growth was reduced by the Bank Levy,
which became effective from 1 July 2017. The Bank Levy
had a $95 million impact on revenue and reduced cash
earnings by $66 million, or around 1% for Full Year 2017.
Non-interest income was a little lower over Full Year 2017
(less than 1% down) with a strong performance from our
financial markets business early in the year, partially offset
by lower wealth and insurance income and a provision for
customer payments.
The 2% growth in net interest income combined with the
small decline in non-interest income led to a 2% rise in net
operating income.
Expenses also increased 2% over the year. The rise was
mostly associated with investment in the business and rising
regulatory and compliance costs. Ordinary expense growth
(mostly inflationary increases) was largely offset by
$262 million in productivity improvements.
Impairment charges were significantly lower this year, down
$271 million or 24%. The lower charge reflects the high
quality of our loan portfolio and the successful work-out of
some large stressed facilities.
In our assessment of Westpac’s performance for the year,
the Board was pleased with both overall financial outcomes
and progress on the Group’s strategy. Strategically there
have been further developments on the digital
transformation of the organisation, stronger customer
satisfaction results, another significant reduction in
complaints (down 18% in Australia and 21% in New
Zealand) and a lift in employee engagement — all good
indicators of the strength of the Group’s franchise and value.
The Group’s improved financial performance and excellent
strategic progress contributed to a rise in short term
incentives payable to key management personnel this year.
The Board considered that, overall, performance across a
range of measures exceeded documented expectations.
The Board also considered how the executive team
responded to the sector’s reputation issues.
Longer term incentives did not vest this year as the
stretching hurdles set by the Board when the incentives
were first issued in 2014 were not achieved. These long
term incentives would typically comprise around one third of
an executive’s remuneration.
Capital
From a capital perspective, 2017 has been an important
year for the Group. After a 10-year process we have
achieved a level of capital that our regulator, the Australian
Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), considers to be
‘unquestionably strong’. Our common equity tier 1 capital
now stands at 10.6%, more than a full percentage point
higher than a year earlier. If we convert this on a like-for-like
basis with international peers, it places us comfortably in the
top quartile of banks globally.
There is a similar story on liquidity. Over the past 10 years
our liquid assets have increased more than fourfold to
$138 billion at 30 September 2017.
APRA has consistently sought to be ahead of global
regulatory trends and this saw a Liquidity Coverage Ratio
introduced in January 2015, with a new Net Stable Funding
Ratio coming into effect from 1 January 2018. Today,
Westpac has ratios of 124% and 109% respectively, ahead
of the 100% benchmarks for both.
We are now materially stronger on both capital and liquidity
in absolute terms and relative to global peers. Of course in
banking you can never be complacent on strength, but it
should be of comfort to shareholders that these ratios are
some of the best in the world.

Chairman’s report
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 5
Building strength however comes at a cost — increasing
shareholders’ equity, lifting shares on issue and holding
additional liquid assets all impact returns. More specifically,
with the increase in shares on issue, our cash earnings per
share of 239.7 cents was up 2% over the year while the
Group’s return on equity (ROE) was 13.8%
1
, marginally
down from 14.0% in 2016. A further consequence of
building strength is that the Group has held dividends
unchanged over recent halves.
Dividends
This year the Board has determined a final dividend of 94
cents per share, which is unchanged over the prior half and
over the final dividend for 2016. This brings the full year
dividend to 188 cents per share, unchanged from 2016.
In setting the dividend the Group seeks to maintain a payout
ratio that is sustainable over the long term. That is, we aim
to retain sufficient capital for growth and to maintain an
unquestionably strong capital position. At the same time, we
seek to maximise the distribution of franking credits. The
impact of the Bank Levy (which cost an equivalent of 2 cents
per share) was also considered.
The final ordinary dividend represents a payout ratio of
79%
2
. The 94 cents represents a dividend yield of 5.9%
based on the closing share price at 29 September 2017 of
$31.92, or a yield of over 8% after adjusting for franking.
The final ordinary dividend will be paid on
22 December 2017 with the record date of
14 November 2017.
Board changes
There were two changes to the Board over the year. As
discussed in last year’s report, after an outstanding 10-year
tenure, Elizabeth Bryan retired at the conclusion of our 2016
Annual General Meeting (AGM).
In September 2017, we were pleased to announce the
appointment of Nerida Caesar to the Board. Nerida was
most recently the CEO of Equifax, formerly Veda, in
Australia and brings with her a wealth of experience in
technology and innovation.
After the end of the financial year we announced that Robert
Elstone will be retiring following the 2017 AGM. Robert has
been an exceptional director in his six years on the Board;
he has a sharp mind, an attention to detail and an ability to
distil issues and focus on what is important. In a period of
heightened global volatility, having a financial markets
specialist such as Robert has also been an asset to your
Board.
Succession planning for new directors is a regular item on
the Board’s agenda and discussions with new potential
candidates are ongoing. As a result, we anticipate the
appointment of one or two new non-executive directors to
the Board in 2018. Potential appointees are expected to add
strength and diversity to your Board.

1
On a cash earnings basis.
2
On a cash earnings basis.
Banking on trust
Last year I spoke about the important role Australia’s banks
play in the economy, and society, and the overwhelming
benefits they have brought. At an economic level, banks
support Australia’s investment requirements and facilitate
the efficient flow of much-needed foreign capital. At a micro
level, banks not only back individual customers and
businesses to help them meet their financial goals, they
facilitate the efficient flow of funds around the economy.
It has been globally acknowledged that Australia and New
Zealand have been well served by their major banks, both
during and since the Global Financial Crisis. You need only
look at other global markets such as the UK, parts of Europe
and the US to appreciate the devastating impact poorly
performing banks can have on customers and economies
over extended periods. Unfortunately the strength of our
banking sector is not always recognised domestically.
In my report last year I sought to address some of the
banking ‘myths’ that have continued to feature in
commentary on the sector. However, unfortunately, the
quality of debate regarding banks has not improved during
the year.
It is clear that some of the criticism of the Australian Banks is
warranted. There have been times over recent years when
issues surrounding the quality of financial advice; the
treatment of insurance claims, and the quality of lending
and/or enforcement decisions have not been consistent with
putting the customer first and/or acting in their best interests.
As a Bank, and an industry, we have also underestimated
the intensity of community, regulatory and government
reaction to the matters where expectations have not been
met.
At the same time the over reaction by many in leadership
positions has been unhelpful and unnecessarily raised the
level of concern in the community relating to trust in the
sector. In part this is why many people respond to the
question that they trust their banker but don’t trust Banks.
Having said that, let me also be perfectly clear that the
Board and management at Westpac understand we must
act. We have to take more responsibility and lift our
standards to an even higher level – and we are. Brian will
talk to developments further but I can say that the Board is
fully behind these initiatives which essentially involve getting
it right for the customer first time and, in those cases where
we fail to do so, calling out the issue and remediating
promptly and appropriately.
The Bank Levy
I wrote to shareholders when the Bank Levy was first
proposed, to make our position clear and seek your
feedback and support. I want to thank the many
shareholders who responded and those who also shared
their views more broadly, including with their local Members
of Parliament.
1

6 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
The Bank Levy is now in place, but we must continue to
agitate for its removal. It is a highly inefficient and distortive
tax that places an impost on a small number of Australia’s
largest taxpayers. It discriminates against Australian banks
relative to global peers and it has impacted the value of your
investment and the investments of millions of
superannuation holders across Australia.
Australia’s oldest company
It has been a privilege to be Chairman of Westpac in its
200th year. 2017 has been a special time for the company
and its people and it has given us the opportunity to reflect
on what has been behind our success and our legacy for
the future.
We have created the Westpac Bicentennial Foundation,
and the Businesses of Tomorrow program, and we have
increased community sponsorship. Through each of these
initiatives we have created a stronger connection with the
markets in which we operate. And in so doing we have
created a stronger foundation for your company’s future
success.
It was a real highlight for me to share memories with
shareholders, current and past employees and some of
Westpac’s great leaders over the last 30 years.
It was a particular pleasure to connect with, and speak to,
our last five CEOs, and the last four Chairmen. We had
some great discussions and it is very clear what a great love
all these leaders had, and still have, for your company.
While each leader brought unique skills and experience to
Westpac, what stood out for me was how aligned they were
in their view on strategy and their focus on customer service.
And so as the baton passed between these CEOs it was
invariably a seamless transition. I strongly believe that this
consistency of long-term strategy has played a vital role in
your company’s success.
To mark our 200 years we also published a book filled with
stories about the bank, its people and customers. It is a
great read and I encourage you to see the online version on
our website.
Outlook
We remain very positive about the Australian and New
Zealand economies. Both markets have strong
fundamentals with solid GDP growth, low unemployment
and controlled inflation.
These trends are expected to broadly continue in the year
ahead with Westpac Economics expecting Australia’s GDP
growth to be 3% in 2018. We anticipate that growth will be
supported by an ongoing contribution from exports of
resources and services along with higher public spending,
including for infrastructure and private non-residential
construction. We are however expecting growth to slow
through the year as the construction cycle peaks and weak
income growth continues to weigh on consumers.
Looking ahead, these settings combined with a further
tightening of credit standards and regulatory limits on
elements of mortgage growth, will likely lead to slower
growth in lending and deposits in 2018 relative to 2017. Our
financial settings are in good shape but we will be subject to
the full period impact of the Bank Levy in 2018.
Asset quality is expected to remain sound in the year ahead,
and while there are no signs of material concern we will
remain vigilant, consistent with our low risk approach.
Summary
It has been a landmark year for Westpac. The success we
have achieved, the strength in our balance sheet and the
positive momentum across the Group means we are well
positioned for the future.
As we begin our third century, our biggest challenge lies in
rebuilding our reputation across the communities in which
we operate. If we are to continue prospering in the period
ahead, we must actively demonstrate the value we bring to
society and the value we bring to customers every day. We
will continue to improve on service delivery; genuinely
listening to customers and putting them at the centre of
everything we do. That’s why our service strategy is so
important.
One of the key things our 200th anniversary has shown me
is the passion and commitment of the people of Westpac to
supporting our customers and creating a better future for all
Australians and New Zealanders. It is this passion and
commitment that has seen us through the highs and lows of
the past 200 years and continues to drive us forward and
helps us continue to deliver sustainable returns for you, our
shareholders.





LINDSAY MAXSTED
Chairman

Chief Executive Officer’s report
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 7

Brian Hartzer
Chief Executive Officer
Dear fellow shareholders,
2017 has been a landmark year for the Westpac Group. As
CEO, it has been an immense honour to lead this company
through our 200th year and into our third century of
business.
At events across the country, and in many of our overseas
offices, I have had the pleasure of speaking with thousands
of our customers, community partners, and staff members.
It has given me—and I know many of our people—a
tremendous sense of pride in this company and the role it
has played in the lives of so many Australians and New
Zealanders throughout its history.
There were many special moments during these events. As
a history ‘tragic’, a particular highlight for me was meeting
Bill McRae, a former employee who served as a Lancaster
Bomber Command pilot in the Royal Air Force during the
Second World War. Bill joined the Bank of New South
Wales in 1929, working in Sydney before our legendary
General Manager, Alfred Davidson, sent him to London to
help build our business in the UK (Alfred Davidson helped
restore Australia’s prosperity during the Great Depression by
initiating the devaluation of the Australian pound). Bill
shared anecdotes of his time in the Royal Air Force and at
the bank on both sides of the war—including how he was
chosen to set up the bank’s first training academy, thanks to
his experience training pilots during the War. I will cherish
his stories.
I also enjoyed meeting customers such as the McDonald
family from Cloncurry, who have banked with Westpac (or
the Bank of New South Wales) since the 1860s. One
customer even brought along his ancestor’s Bank of New
South Wales passbook from 1827—still proudly passed
down as a family heirloom.
Another highlight was sharing a stage in April with five of
Westpac’s former leaders: Gail Kelly, David Morgan, Bob
Joss, Frank Conroy, and Bob White (who sadly passed
away in June). As the Chairman writes in his letter, it was
extraordinary to have some of the great minds of Westpac
all in one place. To put it in perspective, since 1992 these
executives have presided over an increase in the value of
your bank from just less than $5 billion to over $108 billion
today — the total shareholder return over that time
averaging 13% per annum.
There aren’t many companies of our size who could get
such an unbroken chain of former leaders together; and
each of them provided interesting insights from their time as
CEO and observations about today’s business. What really
struck me though was the consistency of their message over
time—the focus on customers, the importance of a strong
balance sheet and inclusive culture, and their pride in
Westpac’s broader role in the community. It was also
pleasing to hear each of them endorse our ‘Service
Revolution’ as the natural extension of these principles and
the right strategy for today.
Bringing our vision to life
As I’ve described in previous letters, our ‘Service Revolution’
strategy is designed to bring to life our vision ‘To be one of
the world’s great service companies, helping our
customers, communities, and people to prosper and
grow’. Our strategy has remained consistent over several
years now, and I’m pleased to report that we’ve continued to
build momentum and deliver projects against each of the five
priorities that comprise the strategy: Service leadership,
performance disciplines, digital transformation, targeted
growth, and workforce revolution.
At its heart, this strategy recognises that we’re a service
business, not a product business—which means that our
core purpose is to help customers achieve what’s important
to them. For shareholders, this means that we create value
by building long-term relationships with our customers—
supporting them through thick and thin.
We recognise that our industry, like the economy as a
whole, is currently undergoing a period of substantial
change. That’s why our primary focus as a management
team is on transforming the company—through the ‘Service
Revolution’ program—to make sure we can continue to
compete and grow value successfully over the medium-to-
long term.
In summary then, our long-term strategy to create value is
to:
 maintain a strong balance sheet and conservative risk
appetite, focused on serving our home markets of
Australia and New Zealand;
 increase the size of our customer base, through the
development of our multiple brands and well-targeted
segment marketing strategies;
1

8 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
 extend the duration and deepen those relationships by
delivering world-class service and using our digital
assets to encourage people to consolidate their
business with us;
 reduce costs and fuel innovation by consolidating and
modernising our technology platforms and forming
partnerships with selected fintech companies;
 continue to develop a highly-engaged, inclusive culture
and sustainable work practices that help us to attract
and retain the best talent in our market; while
 continuing to deliver a disciplined performance, year-in
and year-out, in order to maintain the shareholder
support for the longer-term investments that we are
making.
With this in mind, let me turn now to our 2017 performance.
2017 performance—an overview
At the start of the financial year, with the support of your
Board, the executive team and I agreed three over-arching
goals for our 200th year:
 first, to deliver a strong financial result;
 second, to deliver substantial improvements in service
quality for our customers; and
 third, to make material progress on our culture and
reputation.
Looking back over the year, I’m pleased with the progress
on each of these goals—although we’ve clearly got more
to do.
Financial performance
Our financial performance exceeded the internal earnings
target that we set at the start of the year. Cash earnings
rose 3%, with a 2% increase in operating income, a 2% rise
in expenses, and a substantial reduction in impairment
charges for bad debts. At the same time, we significantly
strengthened our balance sheet, lifting our common equity
tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio above APRA’s benchmark for
banks to be seen as ‘unquestionably strong’. As these
results include the start of the Federal Government’s new
bank levy, increased ‘macro-prudential’ lending
requirements, and a provision to remediate a number of
historical customer issues (I’ll address these shortly), we
consider this to be a good result. (Note too that our cash
earnings exclude the gain on the sale of shares in BT
Investment Management (BTIM) during the period, which
benefits shareholders’ equity. This gain is included in our
reported statutory profit.)
All of our banking divisions performed well, with cash
earnings growth of between 4% and 18%. However,
earnings from BT Financial Group (our wealth management
and insurance business) were 11% down on last year. This
was primarily driven by a number of infrequent items, as well
as significant incremental regulatory and compliance costs.
However, underlying growth in funds under administration,
insurance premiums, and lending within BTFG continued to
be strong.
We sold down our shareholding in BTIM this year from 29%
to 10%, booking a gain of $279 million. It’s worth reflecting
that this has been an outstanding investment for our
shareholders, many of whom also participated in BTIM’s
initial float back in 2007. The decision to sell down reflects
our belief that the future of this business is about ‘open
architecture’ platforms that provide customers and advisors
with a convenient place to manage all of their money,
wherever they choose to invest it. While some of our
competitors are increasingly looking to exit their wealth and
insurance businesses, we continue to believe that having a
strong business in this category will give us an increasing
competitive advantage as Australia’s population ages in the
years ahead.
Within our banking businesses, there were a number of
significant dynamics at play this year that are worth
highlighting.
The first was in Australian mortgages, where APRA
extended its requirements for banks in ways designed to
improve the resilience of the sector to a potential downturn
or substantial increase in interest rates. Specifically, we
were required to maintain investor mortgage growth to less
than 10% per year, and to reduce the proportion of new
mortgage lending with an interest only option to below 30%.
Through a combination of pricing and other actions, both of
these targets were met: Investor mortgage lending grew at
around 6%, and the proportion of interest only lending for the
September 2017 quarter was 26%. However, the
consequence of these and other changes on loan
serviceability assessments was that our overall mortgage
lending grew a little slower than the overall financial system
this year—a result we were comfortable with.
Looking at our balance sheet more broadly, we continued to
prioritise strong growth in deposits while limiting growth in
lending to where returns remain attractive. Total deposits
were up 4% for the year, with high quality household
deposits growing faster than the financial system. Overall
loans grew 3%, with strong growth in small and medium
business as well as the faster-growing service sectors of
health, education, and tourism. However, this was offset by
slower growth in areas such as commercial property, trade
finance and auto finance, where strong competition from
offshore firms has made the returns much less attractive.
We substantially increased the strength of our capital
position this year as well. Our CET1 capital ratio increased
more than a full percentage point to 10.6%, due to
business unit profit growth, our dividend reinvestment plan,
the further sell-down in BTIM, and better capital efficiency.
Although we are still waiting for APRA’s final capital rules, it
is satisfying to know that the strengthening of our balance
sheet required post the GFC is now nearing its end.
Our funding and liquidity position also improved over the
year. We’ve grown deposits, reduced our reliance on
offshore short-term wholesale funding, and further
lengthened the tenor of funding. We also met the new Net
Stable Funding Ratio requirements (essentially a measure of
our longer-term liquidity position) almost a year before the
required 1 January 2018 start date.

Chief Executive Officer’s report
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 9
The combination of all of these factors meant that net
interest margin was down 4 basis points over the year,
including one quarter’s impact of the Federal Government’s
Bank Levy (which reduced the margin by 1 basis point).
Most of the margin decline happened early in the year, with
the impact of repricing and a greater focus on return leading
to higher margins in the second half of the financial year.
Asset quality remained strong during the year, with the ratio
of stressed assets to total committed exposures (TCE)
declining 15 basis points to 1.05%, and a significant
reduction in credit impairment charges over the year. This
reflects both a reduction in new impaired assets along with
the work-out of a small number of larger impairments during
the year. Mortgage delinquencies have also been sound
with little change over the year—although we are monitoring
Western Australia and regional Queensland closely, as
these regions continue to be impacted by the slowdown in
mining investment. Fortunately, recent indicators suggest
that the worst may now have passed, especially in WA.
Non-interest income was a little lower over the year (down
$36 million). The Group recorded higher markets income
(particularly in the first half of the year), improved business
line fees, and good funds management and insurance
flows—however these gains were offset by regulatory
reductions to credit card interchange fees as well as
provisions for customer payments that totalled $169 million
(most of which was included in non-interest income).
Operating expenses grew 2% over the year, which was at
the lower end of the 2-3% medium term range that we
expect—a good result. In a challenging revenue
environment, our goal continues to be to offset business-as-
usual expense growth with productivity savings. This year
we generated $262 million in productivity savings—equal to
around 3% of our cost base—and removed over 900 roles.
Some of the productivity initiatives we completed this year
included:
 launching new mobile banking features to help
customers do their banking on the go;
 installing new call centre technology that speeds up
customer ID verification and provides better functionality
to our call centre team members to help serve
customers better;
 streamlining organisation structures and ‘spans of
control’; and
 consolidating head office locations and transforming
them into more flexible workspaces.
Thanks to initiatives like these, the overall 2% rise in
expenses was largely driven by investments we are making
in our strategic agenda, along with some increases in cost
for regulatory and compliance activities. The cost to income
ratio for FY17 was 42.2%, which puts us among the most
efficient banks in the world, and we remain committed to
taking this ratio below 40% over the next few years.
At a cash earnings level, 3% growth in cash earnings
translated to a 2% increase in earnings per share—mostly
due to the impact of additional shares issued under the
dividend reinvestment plan. What this highlights is that
higher capital levels come at a cost: With increased capital
during the year contributing to a 22 basis point decline in
return on equity (ROE) to 13.8% (although that level remains
within the 13% to 14% band the Group is seeking to
achieve).
Customer performance
The best assessment of whether we are achieving our goal
of becoming one of the world’s great service companies
comes from our customers, and given the size and scope of
our businesses we look at a number of different customer
feedback measures to help us evaluate our performance.
Although any sample-based survey of customer feedback
has its drawbacks, one of the best overall measures is the
Net Promoter Score (NPS), which looks at the relationship
between customers who are advocates for the bank versus
customers who are detractors of the bank. Pleasingly, the
NPS of our consumer banking business has gradually
improved over the year, moving from the bottom of our major
bank peer group 12 months ago to being ranked first in
September 2017.
Another measure we track is the volume of complaints we
receive, and the relationship between those complaints and
the compliments received over the same period. This year
customer complaints across Australian operations fell 18%
compared to FY16, continuing a trend that we’ve seen for
the last several years. Meanwhile compliments received by
our branch network outnumbered complaints by 3.5 to 1,
improving from 3 to 1 last year.
Few things frustrate customers more than not having
services available when they need them. This year,
improvements to our infrastructure have led to a material
reduction in system downtime: In the first half of FY17 we
recorded five ‘severity one’ incidents (system outages with a
significant customer impact) in Australia—and we had no
such outages in the second half of the year. This compares
with 19 such incidents in the previous year.
Improvements in our technology and processes are
reinforced by the Our Service Promise program, a Group-
wide initiative that defines excellent service for our people
and reminds them to incorporate this mindset into action
every day. The program is fundamental to our efforts to
build a genuine service culture, and it’s working. Across the
Westpac Group I regularly see examples of our people
taking the initiative to solve a customer’s problem, to find
creative ideas that help our customers to thrive financially,
and to build genuine long-term relationships.
It’s also important that I and my leadership team support our
people to deliver that high standard of service. So this year
we’ve worked to reduce roadblocks for our people and free
up more time for them to spend with customers: We’ve
digitised time-absorbing tasks, improved the usability of staff
tools, and reduced the number products on offer—making it
easier for our people to recommend the right product and
navigate our processes.
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10 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
In our Consumer Bank, we’ve also removed product-based
sales incentives for our front line tellers and personal
bankers, replacing them with service-based metrics. This
means that our people are now more empowered to deliver
better service to customers and indeed are explicitly
rewarded for doing so.
Culture and reputation
As a service business in a highly competitive market, the
quality of our people and culture is a major determinant of
our success. That’s why we’re so focused on making the
Westpac Group attractive to the best bankers in the market,
and creating an environment where those people can do
their best work.
The 200th anniversary gave us the opportunity to remind our
people of the role our company has played—and continues
to play—in helping our customers and Australia/New
Zealand as a whole to thrive. As a result, we’ve seen a
significant increase in staff pride over the year. This—along
with investments we’ve made in our people’s skills,
leadership training, and a variety of community and
sustainability initiatives during the year—has led to a
significant increase in staff morale, as measured by our
employee survey.
On our preferred measure of ‘staff engagement’, we saw a
10 percentage-point increase over the year to 79%. This is
above the global high-performance benchmark for large
companies, and a remarkable increase in a year for a
company with over 39,000 employees.
As well as investing in our people’s skills, we continue to
work hard to make sure the culture is one where everyone
feels welcome and supported. Our Sustainability
Performance Report sets out a number of the initiatives we
undertook this year, but one milestone deserves special
mention: In 2017 Westpac reached its target of having 50%
of its leadership positions held by women. Of course, we
have more to do to ensure diversity is better reflected across
the organisation, but this is a significant achievement.
Improving our reputation
It’s no secret that bank reputations have been under scrutiny
over the past few years, and Westpac has not been immune.
Given the amount of media attention this has received in
recent months, I’d like to make a few observations about the
causes of this situation and what we’re doing about it.
There are a number of causes, starting with missteps by the
banks themselves—including Westpac. These include high-
profile incidents around poor financial advice, denied
insurance claims, poor service, loose or inadequate risk
controls, and allegations of inappropriate staff behaviour.
Although many of these incidents have been specific to
individual institutions, in the current environment each one
affects the reputation of the industry as a whole.
Compounding these issues has been a significant step-up in
community expectations and regulatory intervention. This
has meant that some policies or business practices that
were acceptable in the past no longer pass muster.
At the same time, the volatile political situation in our State
and Federal Parliaments means that issues which would
previously have been dealt with by the appropriate regulator
are now attracting attention from all sides of politics.
The banking sector is working hard to address these
concerns and has nearly completed implementing a six-point
action plan that addresses issues like sales incentives,
complaint handling, support for whistle-blowers, and the
removal of individuals from the industry who breach the law
or codes of conduct. Westpac is fully committed to this effort
and has completed its work on five of the six points (the final
point, a re-write of the Code of Banking Practice, should be
finished next month).
In Westpac’s case, we have participated in a large number
of formal reviews this year by our various regulators and
political bodies, covering topics such as financial planning,
insurance, superannuation, mortgage lending and pricing
practices, credit cards, systems stability, and anti-money
laundering. The Australian Securities and Investments
Commission (ASIC) has also initiated various legal
proceedings against us, alleging we manipulated the bank
bill swap rate (BBSW), provided inappropriate financial
advice through our ‘scaled advice’ phone channel, and
breached our responsible lending obligations. Our principle
is to accept responsibility when we have done the wrong
thing, but in each of these cases we disagree with ASIC’s
position and are defending our actions.
Regardless of the merits, the reality is that the industry has a
significant challenge ahead to rebuild its reputation. In
particular, we need to address the perception that we put our
own needs ahead of those of our customers.
Getting it right and—when we don’t—putting it right
Across the bank we are proactively reviewing our products
and services and the way we have engaged with our
customers. I call this program ‘Get it Right/Put it Right’. The
idea is to make sure that we align all of our products and
services with our customers’ interests, while making them
simpler, fairer, and more transparent. And, where we
uncover an issue that we need to put right, we ensure that
no customer has been disadvantaged from these past
practices. This work has already led to a number of
important changes and actions.
We’ve introduced our new Westpac Lite credit card, with an
interest rate of 9.9% p.a.—the first card of its kind in the
Australian market. We’ve also reduced everyday transaction
fees on our ‘legacy’ personal transaction accounts, and
removed ATM withdrawal fees when non-customers use one
of our ATMs.
Our reviews of our superannuation disclosure resulted in
payments to some of our customers with pre-existing
conditions who did not have the benefit of our improved
disclosure practices. Similarly, we identified that for some
product packages sold in the past customers did not receive
all the benefits to which they were entitled—and we’re now
going back and rectifying the error for each affected
customer. We’ve also automated these benefits so this can’t
happen again.

Chief Executive Officer’s report
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 11
Based on what we know now, we believe we have dealt with
the most significant of these issues in our 2017 result.
However, these reviews will continue for some time and it is
possible that more issues will emerge that we need to
address. In any event I am confident that this is the right
approach to put our business on a more sustainable footing.
In November last year we appointed Adrian Ahern, a highly
respected former senior lawyer, as our first ‘Customer
Advocate’. Mr. Ahern reports through to me separate from
our businesses, and is thus an independent avenue for
customers to seek a fair and balanced outcome for their
complaints. Our new Customer Council and the new
Stakeholder Advisory Panel are both designed to help us
better understand customer and community views and
identify areas where we could do better. We have also
taken steps to encourage our people to speak up when they
see something that isn’t right, including a new anonymous
phone line and additional protections for whistle-blowers. As
a result we have seen a significant (up 10%) increase in
employees confirming they feel it is ‘safe to speak up’
1
.
The current level of public and political scrutiny is likely to
continue for some time. Hopefully you can see from the
initiatives above that we are committed to taking actions that
will address the substantive issues over time.
Creating a sustainable future
One of the highlights of 2017 was retaining our position as
the most sustainable bank globally in the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index (DJSI). This was the fourth year in a
row and 10th time overall that Westpac has achieved the
global banking sector’s leadership position. The DJSI
assesses companies on a range of criteria including
corporate governance, codes of conduct, HR practices,
community involvement, and environmental policies.
A commitment to sustainable business practices is a big part
of the culture at Westpac: In fact many of our staff have told
me that they were attracted to work at Westpac in large part
because of these policies.
This year we released an updated Climate Change Action
Plan, which attracted significant media and community
attention. In our plan we outlined the steps we will take to
meet our commitment to helping limit global warming to less
than two degrees. This includes our approach to lending to
energy-intensive and renewable sectors, reducing our own
carbon footprint, and helping Australian households to
become more climate-resilient, improve their energy
efficiency and reduce their environmental impact.
The feedback we received on our new climate policy was
overwhelmingly positive. However I know that there are
some shareholders who do not agree with our policy, and
who believe that our actions have overstepped the mark.
Some of you told us that banks should stay out of the
climate debate and just focus on their lending activities. We
respectfully disagree, for two reasons. First, it’s important
that we assess all the risks associated with any lending
proposal, and environmental risks—along with potentially-
related government actions—are increasingly a risk in many

1
2017 Employee Engagement Survey.
transactions. Second, we believe it is in the best long-term
interest of the economy—and therefore our shareholders—
to support a balanced but deliberate transition towards a two
degree economy.
Preparing for a digital future
The final topic I would like to address is how we’re preparing
Westpac for the rapidly-arriving digital future. As many of
you would recall, 2017 saw the 10-year anniversary of
Apple’s iPhone—and it’s astonishing to reflect on how many
aspects of our economy and our daily life have changed in
10 short years.
The impact of digital technology on banking around the
world has been profound, and the changes aren’t close to
done yet. In early October, I visited our branch in Shanghai,
where the vast majority of customers now use an app on
their mobile phone as their main payment device. And two
of the biggest payment applications—WeChatPay and
AliPay—are operated by companies that aren’t even banks.
The threats—and opportunities—created by mobile banking
are profound.
Meanwhile advances in software development, data storage,
and broadband internet mean that so-called ‘cloud
computing’ is an increasingly viable tool for large companies
to improve efficiency and reduce technology costs.
At Westpac one of the main reasons we have survived 200
years is that we’ve always been willing to adapt—to changes
in the economy, in society, and in technology. So we’re
staring straight into these changes and adapting both our
customer service and our underlying technology to make
sure we stay nimble and competitive—and support our
customers to do the same.
This year we also rolled out numerous technology
innovations to customers, including our new wealth platform
(BT Panorama), a new corporate lending portal for
customers of Westpac Institutional Bank, e-conveyancing for
mortgages, cheque digitisation, Lantern Pay (a new payment
platform that supports the Government’s National Disability
Insurance Scheme), and numerous feature and useability
enhancements for mobile banking across all brands.
Our Panorama wealth platform has been a highlight.
Panorama allows investor customers and their advisors to
manage and protect an individual’s wealth and insurance in
a simple-to-use, mobile-accessible platform that integrates
fully into the Group’s online banking systems. The number
of advisers using the platform has continued to grow, with
around $4 billion of funds added to the platform—nearly
100% growth over the year. Other major projects delivered
this year included a new call centre platform, a new ‘big
data’ platform, and the first phase of our new ‘customer
service hub’—which will ultimately help us to consolidate the
St. George and Westpac back-end systems.
We also recognise that much of the innovation and
advances in technology will emerge from small fintech
companies, and so are working hard to build our links with
potential leaders in this arena. To date our Reinventure
venture capital fund has made early-stage investments in
1

12 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
around 15 fintech startups, giving us an early insight into
emerging innovations in data analysis, payments, and digital
lending. We have also made direct investments in
companies such as zipMoney and Uno Home Loans, which
have the potential to serve as important partners in areas
that are a related but a bit outside of our core businesses.
We must acknowledge that investments in early-stage
companies such as these are inherently risky. However we
have been very pleased so far with the progress these
companies are making. We also find that our involvement
gives us valuable exposure to trends in technology and
some of the emerging business models with which we will
need to compete.
Summary
As you can see, 2017 has been a huge year for the banking
industry, and for the Group. Despite the challenges we
faced, I’m proud of our team and what we have delivered for
you and the future value of your investment in Westpac
shares.
I’ll finish by assuring you that we enter our third century in
great shape, with a clear strategy, growing momentum, and
renewed confidence that we are well on the way to building
one of the world’s great service companies.
All the best,



BRIAN HARTZER
Chief Executive Officer
Westpac Group

Information on Westpac
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 13
Westpac is one of the four major banking organisations in
Australia and one of the largest banking organisations in
New Zealand. We provide a broad range of banking and
financial services in these markets, including consumer
1
,
business and institutional banking and wealth
management services.
We have branches, affiliates and controlled entities
2

throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia and in the Pacific
region, and maintain branches and offices in some of the
key financial centres around the world.
3

We were founded in 1817 and were the first bank
established in Australia. In 1850, we were incorporated as
the Bank of New South Wales by an Act of the
New South Wales Parliament. In 1982, we changed our
name to Westpac Banking Corporation following our merger
with the Commercial Bank of Australia. On 23 August 2002,
we were registered as a public company limited by shares
under the Australian Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)
(Corporations Act).
At 30 September 2017, our market capitalisation was
$108 billion
4
and we had total assets of $852 billion.
Business strategy
Westpac’s vision is ‘To be one of the world’s great service
companies, helping our customers, communities and people
to prosper and grow’.
Our strategy seeks to deliver on this vision by building deep
and enduring customer relationships, being a leader in the
community, being a place where the best people want to
work and, in so doing, delivering superior returns for
shareholders.
In delivering on our strategy, we are focused on our core
markets, including Australia and New Zealand, where we
provide a comprehensive range of financial products and
services that assist us in meeting the financial services
needs of customers. With our strong position in these
markets, and over 13 million customers
5
, our focus is on
organic growth, growing customer numbers in our chosen
segments and building stronger and deeper customer
relationships.
A key element of this approach is our portfolio of financial
services brands, which we believe enables us to appeal to a
broader range of customers and provides us with the
strategic flexibility to offer solutions that better meet
individual customer needs.

1
A consumer is defined as a person who uses our products and
services. It does not include business entities.
2
Refer to Note 35 to the financial statements for a list of our material
controlled entities as at 30 September 2017.
3
Contact details for our head office, major businesses and offshore
locations can be found on the inside back cover.
4
Based on the closing share price of our ordinary shares on the ASX
as at 30 September 2017.
5
All customers with an active relationship (excludes channel only and
potential relationships) as at 30 September 2017.
As we continue to build the business, the financial services
environment remains challenging and has required us to
maintain focus on strengthening our financial position while
at the same time improving efficiency. This strengthening
has involved:
 lifting the level and quality of our capital;
 improving our funding and liquidity position; and
 seeking to maintain a high level of asset quality and
provisioning.
While we are currently one of the most efficient banks
globally, as measured by a cost to income ratio, we continue
to focus on ways to simplify our business to make it easier
for customers to do business with us and to make work more
enjoyable for our people. We believe these improvement
efforts also contribute to reducing unit costs that create
capacity for further investment for growth.
Throughout 2017 we continued our focus on delivering
superior outcomes for our customers and shareholders
through our Service Revolution transformation. The Service
Revolution is seeking to: provide a truly personal service for
customers while better anticipating their needs; put
customers in control of their finances; respond to the
increased pace of innovation, disruption and changing
customer behaviours through digitisation and increasing our
capacity for innovation; and innovate and simplify to reinvent
the customer experience.
As part of our delivery of the Service Revolution, we have
developed an integrated, multi-year plan that will be
executed across the Group. In 2017, we delivered significant
outcomes and met key milestones on a number of our
transformation programs focused on the digitisation of the
company through the design and development of a single
bank technology infrastructure. We expect this will
significantly transform customer experiences and drive
operational efficiency. At the same time, our Consumer Bank
and Business Bank transformation programs continued to
deliver market-leading customer services, while lowering the
cost to serve.
Over the year, substantial work has also been undertaken
on conduct and culture, with work focused on continuing to
strengthen our conduct management across the Group. In
addition, work continues on ensuring that we are responding
to our changing regulatory and industry landscape, with
initiatives around a product remediation program,
implementing Australian Bankers’ Association (ABA)
industry initiatives (further information is contained in
‘Significant developments’) and enhancing our remuneration
frameworks.
Sustainability is part of our strategy of seeking to anticipate
and shape the most pressing emerging social issues where
we have the skills and experience to make a meaningful
difference and drive business value. Our approach makes
sustainability part of the way we do business, embedded in
our strategy, values, culture and processes.
1

14 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
Supporting our customer-focused strategy is a strong set of
company-wide values, which are embedded in our culture.
These are:
 integrity;
 service;
 one team;
 courage; and
 achievement.
Strategic priorities
In delivering our strategy, we have five strategic priorities
that help guide our activities:
Service leadership
a)
 provide a seamless customer experience across
all channels;
 deepen relationships through context-based customer
experiences using our portfolio of brands; and
 acquire new customers by making it simpler, easier and
better for customers to choose us.
Digital transformation
b)
 create a 21st century, digitised bank with multi-
brand capabilities;
 simplify products and processes by digitising end-to-
end; and
 drive efficiency opportunities from digitisation and
consolidation of systems.
Performance discipline
c)
 to be the region’s best performing bank;
 manage the business in a balanced way across
strength, growth, return and productivity;
 maintain strong levels of capital, to meet the needs of all
our stakeholders and requirements of regulators;
 continue to enhance our funding and liquidity position,
including ensuring a diversity of funding pools and
meeting new liquidity requirements; and
 maintain a high quality portfolio of assets, coupled with
appropriate provisioning.
Growth highways
d)
 focus on stronger growth in:
– small to medium enterprises;
– wealth; and
 be targeted in specific business segments.
Workforce revolution
e)
 focus on a customer-centric culture;
 strengthen the skills of our people to better serve
customers and meet their complete financial needs;
 empower our people to drive innovation, deliver new
and improved ways of working and be responsive
to change; and
 continue to enhance the diversity of our workforce.
Organisational structure
Our operations comprise the following key customer-facing
business divisions operating under multiple brands.
Consumer Bank (CB) is responsible for sales and service to
consumer customers in Australia under the Westpac,
St.George, BankSA, Bank of Melbourne and RAMS brands.
Activities are conducted through a dedicated team of
specialist consumer relationship managers along with our
call centres and our extensive network of branches and
ATMs. Customers are also supported by a range of internet
and mobile banking solutions. CB also works in an
integrated way with BTFG and WIB in the sales and service
of select financial services and products, including in wealth
and foreign exchange. The revenue from these products is
mostly retained by the product originator.
Business Bank (BB) is responsible for sales and service to
micro, small to medium enterprises (SME) and commercial
business customers in Australia for facilities up to
approximately $150 million. The division operates under the
Westpac, St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne
brands. Customers are provided with a wide range of
banking and financial products and services to support their
borrowing, payments and transaction needs. In addition,
specialist services are provided for cash flow finance, trade
finance, automotive and equipment finance, property finance
and treasury. The division is also responsible for consumer
customers with auto finance loans. BB works in an
integrated way with BTFG and WIB in the sales and service
of select financial services and products including corporate
superannuation, foreign exchange and interest rate hedging.
The revenue from these products is mostly retained by the
product originator.
BT Financial Group (Australia) (BTFG) is the Australian
wealth management and insurance arm of the Westpac
Group, providing a broad range of associated services.
BTFG’s funds management operations include the
manufacturing and distribution of investment,
superannuation, retirement products, wealth administration
platforms, private banking, margin lending and equities
broking. BTFG’s insurance business covers the
manufacturing and distribution of life, general and lenders
mortgage insurance. The division also uses third parties to
manufacture certain general insurance products. In
managing risk across all insurance classes, the division
reinsures certain risks using external providers. BTFG
operates a range of wealth, funds management and financial
advice brands (including Ascalon which is a boutique
incubator of emerging fund managers) and operates under
the banking brands of Westpac, St.George, Bank of
Melbourne and BankSA for Private Wealth and Insurance.
Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB) delivers a broad range of
financial products and services to commercial, corporate,
institutional and government customers with connections to
Australia and New Zealand. WIB operates through dedicated
industry relationship and specialist product teams, with
expert knowledge in transactional banking, financial and
debt capital markets, specialised capital and alternative
investment solutions. Customers are supported throughout
Australia as well as via branches and subsidiaries located in
New Zealand, the US, UK and Asia. WIB is also responsible

Information on Westpac
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 15
for Westpac Pacific, currently providing a range of banking
services in Fiji and PNG. WIB works in an integrated way
with all the Group’s divisions in the provision of more
complex financial needs, including across foreign exchange
and fixed interest solutions.
Westpac New Zealand is responsible for sales and service
of banking, wealth and insurance products for consumers,
business and institutional customers in New Zealand.
Westpac conducts its New Zealand banking business
through two banks in New Zealand:
 Westpac New Zealand Limited (WNZL), which is
incorporated in New Zealand; and
 Westpac Banking Corporation (New Zealand Branch),
which is incorporated in Australia.
Westpac New Zealand operates via an extensive network of
branches and ATMs across both the North and South
Islands. Business and institutional customers are also
served through relationship and specialist product teams.
Banking products are provided under the Westpac brand,
while insurance and wealth products are provided under
Westpac Life and BT brands, respectively. Westpac
New Zealand also maintains its own infrastructure, including
technology, operations and treasury.
Group Businesses include:
 Treasury, which is responsible for the management of
the Group’s balance sheet including wholesale funding,
capital and management of liquidity. Treasury also
manages the interest rate risk and foreign exchange
risks inherent in the balance sheet, including managing
the mismatch between Group assets and liabilities.
Treasury’s earnings are primarily sourced from
managing the Group’s balance sheet and interest rate
risk (excluding Westpac New Zealand) within set risk
limits;
 Group Technology, which comprises functions for the
Australian businesses, is responsible for technology
strategy and architecture, infrastructure and operations,
applications development and business integration; and
 Core Support, which comprises functions performed
centrally, including Australian banking operations,
property services, strategy, finance, risk, compliance,
legal and human resources.
Group Technology costs are fully allocated to other divisions
in the Group. Core Support costs are partially allocated to
other divisions in the Group, with costs attributed to
enterprise activity retained in Group Businesses.
Group Businesses also includes items, including earnings on
capital not allocated to divisions, accounting entries for
certain intra-group transactions that facilitate the
presentation of the performance of the Group’s operating
segments, earnings from non-core asset sales and certain
other head office items such as centrally raised provisions.
Competition
The Group operates in a highly competitive environment
across the regions in which we do business.
We serve the banking, wealth and risk management needs
of customer segments from consumers to small businesses
through to large corporate and institutional clients. The
Group competes with other financial services industry
players for customers, by covering their transacting, saving,
investing, protecting and borrowing needs with a wide set of
products and services. Our competitors range from large
global organisations with broad offerings to entities more
focused on specific regions, products or services. Our
competitors include financial services and advisory
companies such as banks, investment banks, credit unions,
building societies, mortgage originators, credit card issuers,
brokerage firms, fund and asset management companies,
insurance companies, online financial services providers and
increasingly, technology companies are also developing
competitive offerings.
Like other financial services providers, our competitive
position across customer segments, products and
geographies is determined by a variety of factors. These
include:
 the quality, range, innovation and pricing of products
and services offered;
 digital and technology solutions;
 customer service quality and convenience;
 the effectiveness of, and access to, distribution
channels;
 brand reputation and preference;
 the types of customer served; and
 the talent and experience of our employees.
We also operate in an environment where digital innovation
is changing the competitive landscape. In the context of
innovation, we are dependent on our ability to offer new
products and services that match evolving customer
preference and compare favourably to those of our
competitors. The competitive nature of the industry means
that if we are not successful in developing or introducing
new products and services, or in responding or adapting to
changes in customer preferences and habits, we will lose
customers to our competitors.
Competition within Australia’s financial system is evidenced
by both the significant number of providers and the range of
products and services available to customers. In Australia,
we have seen competition for deposits partly driven by
clearer global regulatory requirements for liquidity
management in the post-Global Financial Crisis
environment, such as the introduction of the Liquidity
Coverage Ratio (LCR) in 2015 and the upcoming Net Stable
Funding Ratio (NSFR). Banks and other financial institutions
also seek to achieve a higher proportion of high quality
deposit funding as credit rating agencies and debt investors
look for strong balance sheet positions in their assessment
of quality institutions.
Competition for lending is also expected to remain high. At
the same time, businesses and consumers are cautious
about the global outlook and continue to reduce gearing.
The residential mortgage business continues to be highly
competitive, with increased regulatory oversight to make the
balance sheets of both borrowers and lenders more resilient.
In particular, the most recent regulatory focus has been on
limiting interest only lending. The high degree of competition
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16 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
and regulatory interest is expected to continue. Serving
business customers’ transaction and trade financing needs
has been at the centre of competitive activity as customer
expectations increase.
In our wealth business, we expect the broader competitive
landscape to continue to undergo significant change with
ongoing consolidation in life insurance, continued regulatory
and structural change in financial advice, and increased
overseas interest and participation in superannuation.
In New Zealand, the Group is experiencing strong
competition as banks vie for new customers. Competition for
deposits remains intense and home lending is particularly
competitive on price and switching incentives.
Outlook
1

The Australian economy has continued to grow solidly in
2017. GDP increased by 1.8% for the year to June 2017,
being affected by the severe weather along Australia’s
eastern seaboard in the March quarter 2017. As this impact
fades, GDP growth is forecast to increase to around 3% by
the end of calendar 2017.
Recent growth has been supported by continued
employment growth, more confidence around the global
economy, higher commodity prices, a boost in public
spending and a reduced drag from the slowdown in mining
investment. We have also been encouraged by some
improvement in the level of non-mining business investment,
particularly in the construction sector.
Despite this encouraging news, the Reserve Bank has
chosen to keep interest rates on hold. Concerns around the
consumer are a key issue. Income growth has been modest;
household leverage has increased and household budgets
are being impacted by rising energy costs.
The current mix of growth has continued to vary across
Australia. NSW and Victoria are performing particularly well,
benefiting from low interest rates and stronger housing
construction. Conditions have been much more challenging
in areas impacted by the slowdown in mining (WA and
regional Queensland). In both these regions we have seen
rising unemployment, falling house prices, restrained
spending and higher loan delinquencies. More recently,
there are signs of an improvement, particularly in light of
higher commodity prices, although realistically, a full
recovery is likely to take some time.
In New Zealand, the economy has also been sound, with a
solid pipeline of construction projects, strong population
growth and low interest rates all supporting growth. Some
construction delays and capacity constraints have, however,
limited this growth. GDP growth has held at around 3%, with
unemployment of around 5% and inflation near 2%.
The international outlook has improved over the year. The
consensus view at the recent IMF meeting in Washington
was that 2017 has been the best year for synchronised
global growth since the Global Financial Crisis.
Within Australia, the 2018 outlook is for real GDP to grow at
around 2.5%, with growth expected to slow through the year.
That profile reflects the Group’s expectation that ongoing

1
All data and opinions under ‘Outlook’ are generated by our internal
economists and management.
weak income growth will further weigh on the consumer
through 2018. Prospects for a reasonable lift in business
investment are still clouded while housing construction, after
being a contributor to growth, is likely to peak with its impact
slowing in the year ahead. On the other hand, there will be
ongoing contributions from exports, both resources and
services, public demand, including infrastructure and from
private non-residential construction. Consistent with that
growth profile, we expect the recent strength in employment
growth to slow next year, with a small rise in the
unemployment rate likely.
Inflation is also anticipated to remain at the lower end of the
RBA’s target band and this, along with a modest slowdown
in growth, is expected to see the RBA’s cash rate hold at
1.5% through 2018.
Financial system credit grew by just below 6% in the year to
September 2017, with system housing credit rising 6.5%,
and system business credit expanding by 4.5%. Other
consumer credit declined over the year by just over 1% –
this continues a path of no growth in other consumer credit
for a number of years.
Given the economic backdrop, and the further tightening of
credit standards as the full consequences of macro-
prudential measures flow through, growth in financial system
credit in the year to September 2018 is expected to slow to
around 4.5%. In particular, housing credit growth is forecast
to ease to closer to 5.0%, while business credit is expected
to slow to nearer 4.0%.
Westpac Group remains focused on executing our strategy
of creating a great service company, with our five strategic
priorities assisting to guide this transformation. These
include:
 maintaining our performance disciplines – continuing to
be prudent in the management of capital, funding and
liquidity; managing returns effectively seeking to
achieve a cash ROE between 13% and 14% and
remaining disciplined on asset growth;
 through service leadership, continue to build our
customer base while also increasing the depth of
customer relationships;
 digital transformation is utilising technology to materially
improve efficiency and reduce the Group’s cost to
income ratio to below 40% in the medium term;
 wealth, small and medium business enterprises will
continue to be our areas of targeted growth. These
include further building on the Group’s wealth
management system, called Panorama, and using new
technologies to make business banking more
accessible to customers; and
 through our workforce revolution priority we are seeking
to further build a stronger and more diverse workforce
where the best people want to work.
The financial services industry continues to experience
significant regulatory change and pressure. The Bank Levy
will be fully applied through the year. Following
announcements from our regulator, APRA, we have greater
clarity on what sort of capital levels we require to be
considered ‘unquestionably strong’. APRA have indicated

Information on Westpac
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 17
they expect to finalise their updated capital rules by the end
of calendar 2017, which will draw upon the capital
frameworks being developed by the Basel Committee on
Banking Supervision. Banks are expected to be required to
meet these new standards by 1 January 2020. We believe
the Group is already well placed to meet the Net Stable
Funding Ratio (NSFR) which applies from 1 January 2018.
Given the strength of our business, and our balance sheet,
in both absolute terms and relative to peers, we believe
Westpac is well placed to respond to any additional
regulatory requirements.
Looking ahead, with our strong positioning, disciplined
growth and solid operating performance across all divisions,
combined with good progress on our strategic priorities,
Westpac believes it is well positioned to continue delivering
sustainable outcomes for shareholders and customers.
Significant developments
Corporate significant developments
Bank Levy for Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs)
On 23 June 2017, legislation was enacted that introduced a
new levy on ADIs with liabilities of at least $100 billion (Bank
Levy). The Bank Levy became effective from 1 July 2017
and the rate is set at 0.06% per annum of certain ADI
liabilities. There is no end date provided for the Bank Levy.
The Bank Levy applies to liabilities of Westpac (including its
offshore branches), but does not apply to liabilities of
Westpac’s subsidiaries. Furthermore, the Bank Levy is not
charged on Additional Tier 1 capital, deposits protected by
the Financial Claims Scheme and RBA exchange settlement
balances. The legislation also provides for inclusion of
derivative liabilities on a net basis and for the Bank Levy to
be tax deductible.
The Bank Levy cost Westpac $95 million in Full Year 2017,
with an after tax impact of $66 million and is estimated to
cost Westpac approximately $405 million in Full Year 2018,
with an after tax impact of approximately $284 million.
House of Representatives Standing Committee on
Economics’ Review of the Four Major Banks and other
reviews
On 16 September 2016, the Chairman of the House of
Representatives Standing Committee on Economics
announced that the Committee had commenced its Review
of the Four Major Banks (Parliamentary Review). The terms
of reference for the Parliamentary Review are wide-ranging,
with one area of focus being how individual banks and the
industry as a whole are responding to issues identified
through other inquiries, including through the Australian
Bankers’ Association (ABA) action plan. Westpac attended
public hearings of the Parliamentary Review on
6 October 2016, 8 March 2017 and 11 October 2017.
The first report of the Parliamentary Review was published
on 24 November 2016 and contained ten recommendations.
The second report was published on 21 April 2017. In its
second report, the Committee restated its support for the
recommendations in the first report and supported a
recommendation of the Australian Small Business and
Family Enterprise Ombudsman to remove non-monetary
default clauses in small business loan contracts.
In May 2017, the Australian Government announced that it
supported nine of the ten recommendations made by the
Committee in its first report and announced a range of
measures designed to implement these recommendations,
such as:
 the introduction of the Banking Executive Accountability
Regime (discussed below);
 an independent review to recommend the best
approach to implement an open banking regime with
respect to banking product and consumer data; and
 the creation of a new dispute resolution framework,
including the establishment of the Australian Financial
Complaints Authority, which is designed to be a single
external dispute resolution body for the handling of
financial and superannuation disputes.
On 29 November 2016, the Senate referred an inquiry into
the regulatory framework for the protection of consumers,
including small businesses, in the banking, insurance and
financial services sector to the Senate Economics
References Committee. The terms of reference for the
inquiry focus on a range of matters relating to the protection
of consumers against wrongdoing in the sector. They also
require the inquiry to examine the availability and adequacy
of redress and support for consumers who have been
victims of wrongdoing. The inquiry is scheduled to produce a
report in the first half of 2018.
Further, there are a number of other reviews commissioned
by the Australian Government, including an independent
review to recommend the best approach to implement an
open banking regime in Australia. The review will advise on
the design of the model and regulatory framework to require
banks to share product and customer data with customers
and third parties, including the scope of data sets to be
shared, data transfer mechanisms, risks such as customer
trust and privacy safeguard requirements, and costs of
implementation. The review will report to the Government by
the end of 2017.
In addition to the reviews and inquiries mentioned above, the
ACCC is undertaking a specific inquiry, until 30 June 2018,
into the pricing of residential mortgages by those banks
affected by the Bank Levy (including Westpac), which
includes monitoring the extent to which the Bank Levy is
passed on to customers.
As these reviews and inquiries progress, they may lead to
further regulation and reform.
Banking Executive Accountability Regime
In May 2017, the Australian Government announced that it
would introduce the Banking Executive Accountability
Regime (BEAR). The Government’s stated intention is to
introduce a strengthened responsibility and accountability
framework for the most senior and influential directors and
executives in ADI groups (referred to as ‘accountable
persons’ under BEAR). The Treasury Laws Amendment
(Banking Executive Accountability and Related Measures)
Bill 2017 was introduced into Parliament on 19 October
2017. The Bill has been referred to the Senate Economics
Legislation Committee, which is expected to report on the
Bill by 24 November 2017.
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18 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
If enacted in the form currently proposed, BEAR will involve
a range of new measures, including:
 imposing a set of requirements to be met by ADIs and
accountable persons, including accountability
obligations;
 requirements for ADIs to register accountable persons
with APRA prior to their commencement in an
accountable person role, to maintain and provide APRA
with a map of the roles and responsibilities of
accountable persons across the ADI group, and to give
APRA accountability statements for each accountable
person detailing that individual’s roles and
responsibilities; and
 new and stronger APRA enforcement powers, including
disqualification powers in relation to accountable
persons who breach the obligations of BEAR and a new
civil penalty regime that will enable APRA to seek civil
penalties in the Federal Court of up to $210 million (for
large ADIs, such as Westpac) where an ADI breaches
its obligations under BEAR and the breach relates to
‘prudential matters’.
The proposed commencement date for implementation of
BEAR is 1 July 2018 (with transitional arrangements for
certain aspects of BEAR).
Productivity Commission Inquiry into Competition in the
Australian Financial System
In May 2017, the Australian Government announced a
Productivity Commission inquiry into competition in the
financial system. This review was a recommendation of the
Financial System Inquiry. The terms of reference are broad
and require the Productivity Commission to review
competition in Australia’s financial system with a view to
improving consumer outcomes, and the productivity and
international competitiveness of the financial system and the
economy more broadly, and supporting ongoing financial
system innovation, while balancing these with financial
stability objectives. The review commenced on 1 July 2017
and the Productivity Commission is due to hand its final
report to the Government by 1 July 2018.
Australian Bankers’ Association Banking Reform Program
and industry initiatives
On 21 April 2016, the ABA announced an action plan to
protect consumer interests, increase transparency and
accountability and build trust and confidence in banks.
The reform program includes a number of industry-led
initiatives including:
 a review of product sales commissions and product
based payments;
 the establishment of an independent customer advocate
in each bank;
 supporting the broadening of external dispute resolution
schemes;
 evaluating the establishment of an industry-wide,
mandatory, last resort compensation scheme;
 strengthening protections available to whistleblowers;
 the implementation of a new information sharing
protocol to help stop individuals with a history of poor
conduct moving around the industry;
 strengthening the commitment to customers in the Code
of Banking Practice; and
 supporting ASIC as a strong regulator.
On 20 October 2017, the independent governance expert
overseeing the ABA action plan released his sixth report
titled, Australian banking industry: Package of Initiatives,
which noted that banks are continuing to make good
progress in delivering the initiatives, with a number of the
initiatives now implemented or moving into implementation
stage.
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
Enforcement Review Taskforce
On 19 October 2016, the Australian Government released
the terms of reference for the ASIC Enforcement Review
Taskforce (Taskforce), which will assess the suitability of
ASIC’s existing regulatory tools (including the penalties
available) and whether they need to be strengthened.
The Taskforce has completed consultations on a range of
matters, including proposed reforms to the mandatory
breach reporting framework. These reforms include clarifying
when a reporting obligation is triggered, expanding the class
of reports that must be made to include misconduct by
individual advisers and employees and strengthening the
penalties for failing to report, including through the
introduction of an infringement notice regime.
The Taskforce has also consulted on:
 strengthening ASIC’s licensing powers, which would
enable ASIC to take action to refuse to grant, or to
suspend or cancel, a licence where the applicant or
licensee is not considered to be a fit and proper person;
and
 proposals to expand ASIC’s powers to ban senior
managers working in financial services businesses.
It is currently consulting on proposals to strengthen penalties
for corporate and financial sector misconduct.
The Taskforce is scheduled to report its recommendations to
the Australian Government in 2017.
Product design and distribution obligations and product
intervention power
As part of a package of reforms announced by the Australian
Government in 2016, the Federal Government announced
that it would accelerate the implementation of certain
recommendations made by the Financial System Inquiry
(FSI), including granting ASIC a product intervention power
and introducing a new ‘principles-based’ product design and
distribution obligation on issuers and distributors.
On 13 December 2016, the Australian Government released
a consultation paper seeking feedback on these proposed
reforms. Submissions on the consultation paper closed on
15 March 2017 and it is anticipated that draft legislation will
be released for consultation in 2018.

Information on Westpac
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 19
Financial benchmarks reform
In October 2016, the Australian Government announced a
package of measures designed to strengthen the regulation
of financial benchmarks. The measures were recommended
to the Australian Government by the Council of Financial
Regulators following a consultation process on financial
benchmark reform.
The key measures to be implemented include:
 ASIC will be empowered to develop enforceable rules
for administrators and entities that make submissions to
significant benchmarks (such as Westpac), including the
power to compel submissions to benchmarks in the
case that other calculation mechanisms fail;
 administrators of significant benchmarks will be required
to hold a new ‘benchmark administration’ licence issued
by ASIC (unless granted an exemption); and
 the manipulation of any financial benchmark or financial
product used to determine a financial benchmark (such
as negotiable certificates of deposit) will be made a
specific criminal and civil offence.
These measures are expected to be implemented over the
next 6-12 months.
Residential mortgage lending – reviews by and engagement
with regulators
APRA has been looking at, and speaking publicly about, the
broader issue of bank serviceability standards pertaining to
residential mortgage lending. Westpac is engaging
proactively with APRA in relation to its work in this area.
In the mortgage area, ASIC continues to focus on interest
only mortgage origination and high risk customer groups.
ASIC has also initiated a review into public statements by
some banks (including Westpac) about interest rate
changes. We are working with ASIC on their reviews in
these areas.
BBSW proceedings
Following ASIC’s investigations into the interbank short-term
money market and its impact on the setting of the bank bill
swap reference rate (BBSW), on 5 April 2016, ASIC
commenced civil proceedings against Westpac in the
Federal Court of Australia, alleging certain misconduct,
including market manipulation and unconscionable conduct.
The conduct that is the subject of the proceedings is alleged
to have occurred between 6 April 2010 and 6 June 2012.
Westpac is defending these proceedings. ASIC is seeking
from the court declarations that Westpac breached various
provisions of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the
Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001
(Cth), pecuniary penalties of unspecified amounts and
orders requiring Westpac to implement a comprehensive
compliance program for persons involved in Westpac’s
trading in the relevant market.
In August 2016, a class action was filed in the United States
District Court for the Southern District of New York against
Westpac and a large number of other Australian and
international banks alleging misconduct in relation to BBSW.
These proceedings are at an early stage and the level of
damages sought has not been specified. Westpac is
defending these proceedings.
ASIC’s responsible lending litigation against Westpac
On 1 March 2017, ASIC commenced Federal Court
proceedings against Westpac in relation to home loans
entered into between December 2011 and March 2015,
which were automatically approved by Westpac’s systems.
ASIC has alleged that the way in which Westpac used the
Household Expenditure Measure (HEM) benchmark to
assess the suitability of home loans for customers during
this period was in contravention of the National Consumer
Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) (NCCPA). On
26 September 2017, ASIC amended its court documents to
include an additional allegation that the way serviceability
was assessed for interest only loans during the same period
also contravened the NCCPA. ASIC has also raised specific
allegations in respect of seven loan applications. ASIC
alleges that Westpac improperly assessed whether those
loans were unsuitable because of the way Westpac used
HEM, and for five of the loan applications (which are loans
with an interest only period), because of the way Westpac
assessed serviceability. ASIC has not made any criminal
allegations, or allegations against specific individuals.
Westpac is defending the proceedings.
Outbound scaled advice division proceedings
On 22 December 2016, ASIC commenced Federal Court
proceedings against BT Financial Management Limited
(BTFM) and Westpac Securities Administration Limited
(WSAL) in relation to a number of superannuation account
consolidation campaigns conducted between 2013 and
2016. ASIC has alleged that in the course of some of these
campaigns, customers were provided with personal advice
in contravention of a number of Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)
provisions. ASIC has selected 15 specific customers as the
focus of their claim. BTFM and WSAL are defending the
proceedings. The proceedings are scheduled to be heard in
February 2018.
Class action against Westpac Banking Corporation and
Westpac Life Insurance Services Limited
On 12 October 2017, a class action was filed in the Federal
Court of Australia on behalf of customers who, since
October 2011, have obtained insurance issued by Westpac
Life Insurance Services Limited (WLIS) on the
recommendation of financial advisers at Westpac Banking
Corporation, St.George Bank, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA
or BT Advice. The action is in relation to the premiums these
customers have been charged for the WLIS policies. The
plaintiffs have alleged, amongst other things, that in
providing the financial advice Westpac breached the
fiduciary duties it owed to the members of the class, the
conduct was unconscionable and WLIS was knowingly
involved in these breaches. Westpac and WLIS are
defending the proceedings.
Brexit
On 29 March 2017, the Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom (UK) notified the European Council in accordance
with Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union of the UK’s
intention to withdraw from the European Union (EU),
triggering a two year period for the negotiation of the UK’s
withdrawal from the EU.
As Westpac’s business and operations are based
predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, the direct
impact of the UK’s departure from the EU is unlikely to be
1

20 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
material to Westpac. However, it remains difficult to predict
the impact that Brexit may have on financial markets, the
global economy and the global financial services industry.
Reduction to the corporate tax rate
On 11 May 2017, the Australian Government introduced into
Parliament a bill to reduce the corporate tax rate
progressively from 30% to 25% over the next 10 years for all
corporate entities in a staged approach with reference to
aggregated annual turnover thresholds. If the legislation is
passed in its current form, the benefit will begin to take effect
from 1 July 2023, when the corporate tax rate for Westpac
will reduce to 27.5%. Accordingly, the proposed reduction to
the corporate tax rate will not significantly impact Westpac in
the short term. A reduction to the corporate tax rate will
reduce the value of imputation credits ultimately attached to
franked dividends and distributions to certain security
holders.
Taxation of cross-border financing arrangements
The Australian and New Zealand Governments have each
decided to implement the Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development’s (OECD) proposals relating to
the taxation treatment of cross-border financing
arrangements. These proposals may affect the taxation
arrangements for ‘hybrid’ regulatory capital instruments
issued by Westpac. If implemented without grandfathering,
the potential effect of the OECD proposals is to increase the
after-tax cost to Westpac of certain previously issued
Additional Tier 1 capital securities. Neither Government has
released draft legislation.
Comprehensive Credit Reporting (CCR)
On 2 November 2017, the Federal Treasurer announced
that the Australian Government will legislate for a mandatory
comprehensive credit reporting regime to come into effect by
1 July 2018. This would require credit providers to provide a
monthly update to credit reporting agencies of all open
consumer credit accounts, including credit cards, personal
loans, mortgages and auto loans. According to the
announcement, the four major banks will be required to have
50% of their credit data ready for reporting by 1 July 2018,
increasing to 100% a year later.
Westpac is currently moving to implement CCR, as we
recognise that CCR supports our principles for responsible
lending by enhancing transparency of consumers’ existing
liabilities. Westpac is also focused on ensuring the highest
level of security of personal data is maintained within the
data sharing arrangements that will underpin CCR data
supply and use.
Sale of shares in BTIM
On 26 May 2017, Westpac sold 60 million shares in BTIM at
a price of $10.75 per share, pursuant to a fully underwritten
institutional offer. Following completion of the sale,
Westpac’s holding in BTIM decreased to approximately
10%. Westpac has announced that it intends to sell its
remaining 10% shareholding in BTIM in the future, subject to
favourable market conditions. In accordance with escrow
arrangements communicated to BTIM in respect of the
retained shareholding, any sale would not occur prior to the
release of BTIM’s first half 2018 results (expected to be in
May 2018).
Issue of Additional Tier 1 capital securities
On 21 September 2017, Westpac issued US$1.25 billion
Additional Tier 1 capital securities, which qualify as
Additional Tier 1 capital under APRA’s capital adequacy
framework.
Regulatory significant developments
Financial System Inquiry’s (FSI) recommendations on bank
capital
The Australian Government’s response to the FSI has
endorsed APRA’s actions in implementing the FSI’s capital-
related recommendations, and has confirmed APRA’s
responsibility for implementing the remaining
recommendations.
On 19 July 2017, APRA released an information paper titled,
Strengthening banking system resilience – establishing
unquestionably strong capital ratios. In its release, APRA
concluded that the four major Australian banks, including
Westpac, need to have a CET1 ratio of at least 10.5%, as
measured under the existing capital framework to be
considered ‘unquestionably strong’. Banks are expected to
meet this new benchmark by 1 January 2020.
APRA’s implementation of capital standards to produce
‘unquestionably strong capital ratios’ will also incorporate
changes to the prudential framework, including consideration
of the finalisation of international Basel III reforms. The final
Basel III reforms may result in significant changes in the risk
weighted asset framework including the introduction of a
revised capital floor for internal model-based methods,
based on standardised approaches.
Whilst APRA has signalled that its revisions to the capital
framework will not necessitate further capital increases for
the industry above the 10.5% benchmark, the details of the
changes (including at a product level) remain unclear.
APRA has announced that it intends to release a discussion
paper on proposed revisions to the capital framework later in
2017 and, following release of the discussion paper, that it
expects to consult on draft prudential standards giving effect
to the new framework in 2018, leading to the release of final
prudential standards in 2019. The new framework is
anticipated to take effect in early 2021.
In addition to the risk-based capital ratio, APRA may also
implement other key FSI recommendations, including:
 the introduction of a leverage ratio that acts as a
backstop to an ADI’s risk-based capital requirements.
Whilst APRA requires the disclosure of the leverage
ratio on a quarterly basis, it is yet to be implemented as
a minimum requirement; and
 the implementation of a framework for additional loss-
absorbing capacity, discussed further below.
Resolution planning including additional loss absorbing
capacity and APRA’s crisis management powers
In response to the FSI recommendations, the Australian
Government also agreed to further reforms regarding crisis
management. In August 2017, Treasury issued draft
legislation to strengthen APRA’s crisis management powers.
This was introduced into Parliament in October 2017. The
intention of these reforms is to strengthen APRA’s powers to
facilitate the orderly resolution of an institution so as to
protect the interests of depositors and to protect the stability

Information on Westpac
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 21
of the financial system. The reforms also enhance APRA’s
ability to take actions in relation to resolution planning,
including measures to ensure regulated entities and their
groups are better prepared for resolution.
Consistent with international developments, APRA may also
establish a framework for additional loss absorbing capacity
for the four major Australian banks, including Westpac. The
intention of this would be to facilitate the orderly resolution of
banks and minimise taxpayer support. APRA is yet to
release any consultation on additional loss-absorbing
capacity.
Macro-prudential regulation
From December 2014, APRA has made use of macro-
prudential measures targeting mortgage lending that
continue to impact lending practices in Australia. The
measures include limiting investment property lending
growth to below 10% and imposing additional levels of
conservatism in serviceability assessments.
On 31 March 2017, APRA added to these measures,
requiring ADIs to restrict mortgage lending with interest only
terms to 30% of new mortgage lending. APRA also indicated
that it expects ADIs to place strict internal limits on the
volume of interest only loans with loan-to-valuation ratios
above 80%.
Westpac has implemented steps to achieve these limits,
including introducing differential pricing for investor property
loans and interest only loans, a restriction on the volume of
interest only loans with an LVR of greater than 80%
(includes limit increases, interest only term extension and
switches), no repayment switch fee for customers switching
to principal and interest from interest only loans and no
longer accepting external refinances (from other financial
institutions) for owner occupied interest only loans. Interest
only residential mortgages constituted 26% of new mortgage
lending for the quarter ended 30 September 2017 (currently
46% of Westpac’s overall Australian residential mortgage
portfolio as at 30 September 2017).
Further details of Westpac’s other regulatory disclosures
required in accordance with prudential standard APS 330
can be accessed at
www.westpac.com.au/aboutwestpac/investor-
centre/financial-information/regulatorydisclosures.
Other regulatory developments
Net Stable Funding Ratio
APRA released a revised prudential standard on liquidity
(APS 210) on 20 December 2016. This prudential standard
includes the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) requirement,
a measure designed to encourage longer-term funding of
assets and better match the duration of assets and liabilities.
The revised APS 210, inclusive of the NSFR, will commence
from 1 January 2018. During Full Year 2017, Westpac
continued to take steps in preparation for the introduction of
the NSFR from 1 January 2018. Based on the latest
guidance from APRA, Westpac had an estimated NSFR at
30 September 2017 which is above that required from
1 January 2018.
OECD Common Reporting Standard
The OECD has developed Common Reporting Standard
(CRS) rules for the automatic exchange of customer tax
residency and financial account information amongst
participating CRS countries.
CRS requires the Westpac Group to collect and check the
tax residency of all customers and to report the tax
residency and financial account details of non-resident
customers to the relevant authorities in jurisdictions with
which Australia has entered into an exchange of information
agreement.
Together with other Australian financial institutions, Westpac
began collecting tax residency information from 1 July 2017
and will report these details and associated financial account
information from July 2018.
Westpac has implemented changes to its business
operations to comply with the CRS requirements in countries
which have implemented the rules prior to 1 July 2017.
European Union General Data Protection Regulation
The European Union General Data Protection Regulation
(the GDPR) contains new data protection requirements that
will apply from 25 May 2018. The GDPR is intended to
‘strengthen and unify’ data protection for individuals across
the EU and supersedes the existing EU Data Protection
Directive. Australian businesses of any size may need to
comply if they have an establishment in the EU, if they offer
goods or services in the EU, or if they monitor the behaviour
of individuals in the EU. Westpac is evaluating the impact of
GDPR on its businesses with a view to implementing the
necessary changes before commencement of the GDPR.
OTC derivatives reform
International regulatory reforms relating to over-the-counter
(OTC) derivatives continue to be implemented by financial
regulators across the globe, with the focus moving to
implementing variation margin and initial margin
requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives.
Variation margin requirements in a number of key
jurisdictions for Westpac (being Australia, the EU, US and
Hong Kong) became applicable during Full Year 2017.
Westpac has completed a substantial amount of work to
comply with all applicable variation margin requirements. In
addition, initial margin requirements commenced on
1 September 2016. These requirements are being
introduced in phases through to 1 September 2020.
Westpac currently expects that it will be required to
commence exchanging initial margin by either September
2018 or September 2019.
New Zealand
Regulatory reforms and significant developments in
New Zealand include:
Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) – macro-prudential
policy framework
On 8 June 2017, the RBNZ published a consultation paper
seeking feedback on serviceability restrictions such as debt-
to-income ratio (DTI) limits being added to its macro-
prudential toolkit. The RBNZ stated in the consultation paper
that the RBNZ would not utilise a DTI policy in current
market conditions, but considers DTI limits a useful option in
the future.
1

22 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
RBNZ – Review of Outsourcing Policy
On 19 September 2017, the RBNZ released the final version
of its revised Outsourcing Policy (and updated conditions of
registration). These took effect on 1 October 2017. Key
changes under the revised policy are:
 banks will need to obtain a non-objection letter from the
RBNZ before entering into outsourcing arrangements
with a parent or other related party;
 a bank that outsources certain functions to any third
party will need to have certain prescribed contractual
terms with that third party and ensure that the third party
has adequate disaster recovery and business continuity
plan capability in relation to the outsourced function;
 a bank that outsources certain functions to its overseas
parent or to another non-controlled related party will
need to have robust back-up arrangements in place;
 banks will be required to maintain a compendium of
functions and processes that have been outsourced;
and
 banks that are members of foreign-owned banking
groups, such as WNZL, will be required to have a
separation plan which describes how they would
operate previously outsourced services if a statutory
manager is appointed or they are otherwise separated
from their overseas parent.
There will be a five year transitional period in relation to
existing outsourcing arrangements.
The key impact of the revised policy will be in respect of
outsourcing arrangements related to institutional products,
settlements, finance, risk management and regulatory
reporting.
RBNZ Capital Review
In March 2017, the RBNZ outlined its plans for its review of
bank capital requirements. The RBNZ’s aim is to agree a
capital regime that ensures a very high level of confidence in
the solvency of the banking system while avoiding economic
inefficiency. The review will look at the three key
components of the regulatory capital regime:
 the definition of eligible capital instruments;
 the measurement of risk, in particular the risk weights
attached to credit exposures; and
 the minimum capital ratio and buffers.
The RBNZ has said that the outcomes of the review will be
heavily influenced by the international regulatory context, the
risk characteristics of the New Zealand system, and the
RBNZ’s regulatory capital approach. The RBNZ released a
high-level Issues Paper in May 2017 and a consultation
paper considering what type of financial instruments should
qualify as bank capital. The RBNZ expects to conclude its
review in the first quarter of 2018. Based on the high level
information released to date, the expectation is that the
RBNZ will likely propose increasing capital ratios and certain
risk weights, with internal ratings-based (IRB) banks having
fewer models to use (to reduce the difference between
standardised and IRB banks).
Reform of the regulation of financial advice
The New Zealand Government announced plans for
changes to the regime regulating financial advice in
July 2016. In August 2017, the Financial Services
Legislation Amendment Bill was introduced into Parliament.
Under the proposed new regime, financial advice will be
provided by licensed firms who will employ financial advisers
and nominated representatives. A Code of Conduct will
apply to all advice and advisers and representatives will be
subject to the same duties and ethical standards, including a
duty to give priority to the client’s interests. Firms will be
responsible for ensuring their advisers and representatives
comply with these duties. The reforms will also remove
legislative barriers to the provision of robo-advice.
A two stage transition is proposed with all industry
participants being required to be operating under a full
licence by May 2021.
RBNZ – Review under section 95 of the Reserve Bank of
New Zealand Act 1989
On 10 February 2017, the RBNZ issued WNZL with a notice
under section 95 of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act
1989, requiring WNZL to obtain an independent review of its
compliance with advanced internal rating-based aspects of
the RBNZ’s ‘Capital Adequacy Framework (Internal Models
Based Approach) (BS2B)’ (BS2B). WNZL has disclosed
non-compliance with BS2B (compliance with which is a
condition of registration for WNZL) in its quarterly disclosure
statements. WNZL expects to receive the RBNZ’s final
decision in 2017. There are a range of possible
consequences for WNZL, including potential increases in
minimum capital requirements.
Supervision and regulation
Australia
Within Australia, we are subject to supervision and
regulation by six principal agencies: the Australian
Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA); the Reserve Bank
of Australia (RBA); the Australian Securities and
Investments Commission (ASIC); the Australian Securities
Exchange (ASX); the Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission (ACCC); and the Australian Transaction
Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC).
APRA is the prudential regulator of the Australian financial
services industry. It oversees banks, credit unions, building
societies, general insurance, re-insurance, life insurance and
private health insurance companies, friendly societies and
most of the superannuation (pension) industry. APRA’s role
includes establishing and enforcing prudential standards and
practices designed to ensure that, under all reasonable
circumstances, financial promises made by the institutions it
supervises are met within a stable, efficient and competitive
financial system. APRA is expected to have new and
strengthened powers under the proposed new Banking
Executive Accountability Regime. For further information,
refer to ‘Significant developments’ above.
As an ADI, we report prudential information to APRA,
including information in relation to capital adequacy, large
exposures, credit quality and liquidity. Our controlled entities
in Australia that are authorised insurers and trustees of
superannuation funds are also subject to the APRA
regulatory regime. Reporting is supplemented by
consultations, on-site inspections and targeted reviews. Our

Information on Westpac
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 23
external auditor also has an obligation to report on
compliance with certain statutory and regulatory banking
requirements and on any matters that in their opinion may
have the potential to materially prejudice the interests of
depositors and other stakeholders.
Australia’s risk-based capital adequacy guidelines are based
on the approach agreed upon by the BCBS. National
discretion is then applied to that approach, which results in
Australia’s capital requirements being more stringent. Refer
to ‘Capital resources – Basel Capital Accord’ in Section 2.
The RBA is responsible for monetary policy, maintaining
financial system stability and promoting the safety and
efficiency of the payments system. The RBA is an active
participant in the financial markets, manages Australia’s
foreign reserves, issues Australian currency notes and
serves as banker to the Australian Government.
ASIC is the national regulator of Australian companies and
consumer protection within the financial sector. Its primary
responsibility is to regulate and enforce company, consumer
credit, financial markets and financial products and services
laws that protect consumers, investors and creditors. With
respect to financial services, it promotes fairness and
transparency by providing consumer protection, using
regulatory powers to enforce laws relating to deposit-taking
activities, general insurance, life insurance, superannuation,
retirement savings accounts, securities (such as shares,
debentures and managed investments) and futures
contracts and financial advice. ASIC has responsibility for
supervising trading on Australia’s domestic licensed markets
and of trading participants. There are currently proposals to
strengthen ASIC’s existing powers and to provide ASIC with
a product intervention power. For further information, refer to
‘Significant developments’ above.
The ASX operates Australia’s primary national market for
trading of securities issued by listed companies. Some of our
securities (including our ordinary shares) are listed on the
ASX and we therefore have obligations to comply with the
ASX Listing Rules, which have statutory backing under the
Corporations Act 2001. The ASX has responsibility for the
oversight of listed entities under the ASX Listing Rules and
for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the ASX
Operating Rules by its market, clearing and
settlement participants. ASX is now also the benchmark
administrator of BBSW.
The ACCC is the regulator responsible for the regulation and
prohibition of anti-competitive and unfair market practices
and mergers and acquisitions in Australia. Its broad
objective is to administer the Competition and Consumer Act
2010 (Cth) and related legislation to bring greater
competitiveness, fair trading, consumer protection and
product safety to the Australian economy. The ACCC’s role
in consumer protection complements that of ASIC (for
financial services) and Australian state and territory
consumer affairs agencies that administer the unfair trading
legislation of their jurisdictions.
The Australian Government’s present policy, known as the
‘four pillars policy’, is that there should be no fewer than four
major banks to maintain appropriate levels of competition in
the banking sector. Under the Financial Sector
(Shareholdings) Act 1998 (Cth), the Australian
Government’s Treasurer must approve an entity acquiring a
stake of more than 15% in a particular financial sector
company.
Proposals for foreign acquisitions of a stake in Australian
banks are subject to the Australian Government’s foreign
investment policy and, where required, approval by the
Australian Government under the Australian Foreign
Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth). For further
details refer to ‘Limitations affecting security holders’ in
Section 4.
AUSTRAC oversees the compliance of Australian reporting
entities (including Westpac) with the requirements under the
Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing
Act 2006 (Cth) and the Financial Transaction Reports
Act 1988 (Cth). These requirements include:
 implementing programs for identifying and monitoring
customers, and for managing the risks of money
laundering and terrorism financing;
 reporting suspicious matters, threshold transactions and
international funds transfer instructions; and
 submitting an annual compliance report.
AUSTRAC provides financial information to Australian
federal law enforcement, national security, human services
and revenue agencies, and certain international
counterparts.
New Zealand
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is responsible
for supervising New Zealand registered banks. The
New Zealand prudential supervision regime requires that
registered banks publish quarterly disclosure statements,
which contain information on financial performance and risk
positions as well as attestations by the directors about the
bank’s compliance with its conditions of registration and
certain other matters. The RBNZ is developing proposals to
replace off-quarter disclosure statements with a ‘dashboard’
of key information about each locally incorporated bank to
be published on the RBNZ’s website.
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) is a financial conduct
regulator whose main objective is to promote and facilitate
the development of fair, efficient and transparent financial
markets. Its functions include promoting the confident and
informed participation of businesses, investors and
consumers in those markets. The Financial Markets Conduct
Act, which was passed in 2013, resulted in the FMA having
extensive new responsibilities in the licensing and
supervision of various market participants as well as new
enforcement powers.
United States
Our New York branch is a US federally licensed branch and
therefore is subject to supervision, examination and
regulation by the US Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency and the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System (the US Federal Reserve) under the US
International Banking Act of 1978 (IBA) and related
regulations.
A US federal branch must maintain, with a US Federal
Reserve member bank, a capital equivalency deposit as
prescribed by the US Comptroller of the Currency, which is
at least equal to 5% of its total liabilities (including
1

24 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
acceptances, but excluding accrued expenses, and amounts
due and other liabilities to other branches, agencies and
subsidiaries of the foreign bank).
In addition, a US federal branch is subject to periodic onsite
examination by the US Comptroller of the Currency. Such
examination may address risk management, operations,
asset quality, compliance with the record-keeping and
reporting, and any additional requirements prescribed by the
US Comptroller of the Currency from time to time.
A US federal branch of a foreign bank is, by virtue of the
IBA, subject to the receivership powers exercisable by the
US Comptroller of the Currency.
As of 22 June 2016, we elected to be treated as a financial
holding company in the US pursuant to the Bank Holding
Company Act of 1956 and Federal Reserve Board
Regulation Y. Our election will remain effective so long as
we meet certain capital and management standards
prescribed by the US Federal Reserve.
Westpac and some of its affiliates are engaged in various
activities that are subject to regulation by other US federal
regulatory agencies, including the US Securities and
Exchange Commission and the US Commodity Futures
Trading Commission.
Anti-money laundering regulation and
related requirements
Westpac has a Group-wide program to manage its
obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-
Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth). We continue to actively
engage with the regulator, AUSTRAC, on our activities.
Our Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism
Financing Policy (AML/CTF Policy) sets out how the
Westpac Group complies with its legislative obligations.
The AML/CTF Policy applies to all business divisions and
employees (permanent, temporary and third party providers)
working in Australia, New Zealand and overseas.
United States
The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 requires US financial
institutions, including the US branches of foreign banks, to
take certain steps to prevent, detect and report individuals
and entities involved in international money laundering and
the financing of terrorism. The required actions include
verifying the identity of financial institutions and other
customers and counterparties, terminating correspondent
accounts for foreign ‘shell banks’ and obtaining information
about the owners of foreign bank clients and the identity of
the foreign bank’s agent for service of process in the US.
The anti-money laundering compliance requirements of the
USA PATRIOT Act include requirements to adopt and
implement an effective anti-money laundering program,
report suspicious transactions or activities, and implement
due diligence procedures for correspondent and other
customer accounts. Westpac’s New York branch and
Westpac Capital Markets LLC maintain an anti-money
laundering compliance program designed to address US
legal requirements.
US economic and trade sanctions, as administered by the
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), prohibit or
significantly restrict US financial institutions, including the US
branches and operations of foreign banks, and other US
persons from doing business with certain persons, entities
and jurisdictions. Westpac’s New York branch and
Westpac Capital Markets LLC maintain compliance
programs designed to comply with OFAC sanctions
programs, and Westpac has a Group-wide program to
ensure adequate compliance.
Legal proceedings
Our entities are defendants from time to time in legal
proceedings arising from the conduct of our business.
Material legal proceedings, if any, are described in Note 31
to the financial statements and under ‘Significant
developments’ above. Where appropriate as required by the
accounting standards, a provision has been raised in respect
of these proceedings and disclosed in the financial
statements.
Principal office
Our principal office is located at 275 Kent Street, Sydney,
New South Wales, 2000, Australia. Our telephone number
for calls within Australia is (+61) 2 9155 7713 and our
international telephone number is (+61) 2 9155 7700.

2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 25
Corporate Governance Statement
Our approach to corporate governance is based on a set of
values and behaviours that underpin day-to-day activities,
provide transparency and fair dealing and seek to protect
stakeholder interests.
This approach includes a commitment to excellence in
governance standards, which we see as fundamental to the
sustainability of our business and our performance. It
includes monitoring local and global developments in
corporate governance and assessing their implications.
We comply with the ASX Corporate Governance Principles
and Recommendations (third edition) published by the ASX
Limited’s Corporate Governance Council.
Westpac’s 2017 Corporate Governance Statement and a
range of documents referred to in it are available on our
corporate governance website at
www.westpac.com.au/corpgov. This website contains copies
and summaries of charters, principles and policies referred
to in the Corporate Governance Statement.
Websites
Investor communications and information, including this
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report, the 2017 Westpac
Group Annual Review and Sustainability Report, the 2017
Westpac Group Sustainability Performance Report and
investor discussion packs and presentations can be
accessed at www.westpac.com.au/investorcentre.
1

Directors’ report
26 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report

Our Directors present their report together with the financial statements of the Group for the financial year ended
30 September 2017.
1. Directors
The names of the persons who have been Directors, or appointed as Directors, during the period since 1 October 2016 and up
to the date of this report are: Lindsay Philip Maxsted, Brian Charles Hartzer, Elizabeth Blomfield Bryan (retired as a Director on
9 December 2016), Nerida Frances Caesar (Director from 1 September 2017), Ewen Graham Wolseley Crouch, Catriona
Alison Deans (Alison Deans), Craig William Dunn, Robert George Elstone, Peter John Oswin Hawkins and Peter Ralph
Marriott.
Particulars of the skills, experience, expertise and responsibilities of the Directors at the date of this report, including all
directorships of other listed companies held by a Director at any time in the past three years immediately before
30 September 2017 and the period for which each directorship has been held, are set out below.

Name: Lindsay Maxsted,
DipBus (Gordon), FCA, FAICD
Age: 63
Term of office: Director since
March 2008 and Chairman since
December 2011.
Date of next scheduled
re-election: December 2017.
Independent: Yes.
Current directorships of listed
entities and dates of office:
Transurban Group (since
March 2008, and Chairman since
August 2010), BHP Billiton
Limited (since March 2011) and
BHP Billiton plc (since
March 2011).

Other principal directorships:
Managing Director of Align Capital
Pty Ltd and Director of Baker Heart
and Diabetes Institute.
Other interests: Nil.
Other Westpac related entities
directorships and dates of
office: Nil.
Skills, experience and expertise:
Lindsay was formerly a partner at
KPMG and was the CEO of that
firm from 2001 to 2007. His
principal area of practice prior to
his becoming CEO was in the
corporate recovery field managing
a number of Australia’s largest
insolvency/workout/turnaround
engagements including
Linter Textiles (companies
associated with Abraham
Goldberg), Bell Publishing Group,
Bond Brewing, McEwans
Hardware and Brashs. He is also
a former Director and Chairman
of the Victorian Public Transport
Corporation.
Westpac Board Committee
membership: Chairman of the
Board Nominations Committee.
Member of each of the Board
Audit and Board Risk &
Compliance Committees.
Directorships of other listed
entities over the past three
years and dates of office: Nil.

Name: Brian Hartzer,
BA, CFA
Age: 50
Term of office: Managing
Director & Chief Executive
Officer since February 2015.
Date of next scheduled
re-election: Not applicable.
Independent: No.
Current directorships of listed
entities and dates of office:
Nil.
Other principal directorships:
The Australian National
University Business and Industry
Advisory Board (Chairman since
March 2017), the Financial
Markets Foundation for Children
and Australian Bankers’
Association Incorporated.

Other interests: Nil.
Other Westpac related entities
directorships and dates of
office: Nil.
Skills, experience and expertise:
Brian was appointed Managing
Director & Chief Executive Officer
in February 2015. Brian joined
Westpac as Chief Executive,
Australian Financial Services in
June 2012 encompassing Westpac
Retail & Business Banking,
St.George Banking Group and BT
Financial Group. Prior to joining
Westpac, Brian spent three years
in the UK as CEO for Retail,
Wealth and Ulster Bank at the
Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Prior to that, he spent ten years
with Australia and New Zealand
Banking Group Limited (ANZ) in
Australia in a variety of roles,
including his final role as CEO,
Australia and Global Segment
Lead for Retail and Wealth.
Before joining ANZ, Brian spent
ten years as a financial services
consultant in New York, San
Francisco and Melbourne.
Westpac Board Committee
membership: Member of the
Board Technology Committee.
Directorships of other listed
entities over the past three
years and dates of office: Nil.

Directors’ report
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 27

Name: Nerida Caesar,
BCom, MBA, GAICD
Age: 53
Term of office: Director since
September 2017.
Date of next scheduled
re-election: December 2017.
Independent: Yes.
Current directorships of listed
entities and dates of office: Nil.
Other principal directorships:
Stone and Chalk Limited and
Genome.One Pty Ltd.
Other interests: Member of the
University of Technology Vice
Chancellor’s Industry Advisory
Board and the Federal
Government’s FinTech Advisory
Group.
Other Westpac related entities
directorships and dates of
office: Nil.

Skills, experience and
expertise: Nerida has 30 years
of broad-ranging commercial and
business management
experience. Most recently,
Nerida was Group Managing
Director and Chief Executive
Officer, Australia and New
Zealand, of Equifax (formerly
Veda Group Limited) from
February 2011.
Nerida was formerly Group
Managing Director, Telstra
Enterprise and Government,
responsible for Telstra’s
corporate, government and large
business customers in Australia
as well as the international sales
division. She also worked as
Group Managing Director,
Telstra Wholesale, and prior to
that held the position of
Executive Director National
Sales where she was
responsible for
managing products, services and
customer relationships throughout
Australia.
Prior to joining Telstra, Nerida
held several senior management
and sales positions with IBM
within Australia and internationally
over a 20 year period, including
as Vice President of IBM’s Intel
Server Division for the Asia
Pacific region.
Westpac Board Committee
membership: Member of each of
the Board Risk & Compliance and
Board Technology Committees.
Directorships of other listed
entities over the past three
years and dates of office: Veda
Group Limited (December 2013 –
February 2016). Veda Group
Limited was a listed entity from
December 2013 to February 2016
when it was delisted upon its
acquisition by Equifax Inc.

Name: Ewen Crouch AM,
BEc (Hons.), LLB, FAICD
Age: 61
Term of office: Director since
February 2013.
Date of next scheduled
re-election: December 2019.
Independent: Yes.
Current directorships of listed
entities and dates of office:
BlueScope Steel Limited (since
March 2013).
Other principal directorships:
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Holdings Pty Limited and Jawun.
Other interests: Member of the
Commonwealth Remuneration
Tribunal, Law Committee of the
Australian Institute of Company
Directors and Corporations
Committee of the Law Council of
Australia.
Other Westpac related entities
directorships and dates of
office: Nil.
Skills, experience and
expertise: Ewen was a Partner
at Allens from 1988 to 2013,
where he was one of Australia’s
most accomplished mergers and
acquisitions lawyers. He served
as a member of the firm’s board
for 11 years, including four years
as Chairman of Partners. His
other roles at Allens included Co-
Head Mergers and Acquisitions
and Equity Capital Markets,
Executive Partner, Asian offices
and Deputy Managing Partner.
He is now a Consultant to Allens.
Ewen served as a director of
Mission Australia from 1995 and
as Chairman from 2009, before
retiring in November 2016. From
2010 to 2015, Ewen was a
member of the Takeovers Panel.
In 2013, Ewen was awarded an
Order of Australia in recognition
of his significant service to the
law as a contributor to legal
professional organisations and
to the community.
Westpac Board Committee
membership: Chairman of the
Board Risk & Compliance
Committee. Member of each of
the Board Nominations and
Board Remuneration
Committees.
Directorships of other listed
entities over the past three
years and dates of office: Nil.

1

28 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report

Name: Alison Deans,
BA, MBA, GAICD
Age: 49
Term of office: Director since
April 2014.
Date of next scheduled
re-election: December 2017.
Independent: Yes.
Current directorships of listed
entities and dates of office:
Cochlear Limited (since
January 2015).
Other principal directorships:
kikki.K Holdings Pty Ltd and
SCEGGS Darlinghurst Limited.
Other interests: Senior Advisor,
McKinsey & Company and

Investment Committee member
of the CSIRO Innovation Fund
(Main Sequence Ventures).
Other Westpac related entities
directorships and dates of
office: Nil.
Skills, experience and
expertise: Alison has more than
20 years’ experience in senior
executive roles focused on
building digital businesses and
digital transformation across
e-commerce, media and financial
services. During this time, Alison
served as the CEO of eCorp
Limited, CEO of Hoyts Cinemas
and CEO of eBay, Australia and
New Zealand. She was the CEO
of a technology-based
investment company netus Pty
Ltd. Alison was an Independent
Director of Social Ventures
Australia from September 2007
to April 2013.
Westpac Board Committee
membership: Member of each
of the Board Risk & Compliance
and Board Technology
Committees.
Directorships of other listed
entities over the past three
years and dates of office:
Insurance Australia Group
Limited (February 2013 –
October 2017).

Name: Craig Dunn,
BCom, FCA
Age: 54
Term of office: Director since
June 2015.
Date of next scheduled
re-election: December 2018.
Independent: Yes.
Current directorships of listed
entities and dates of office:
Telstra Corporation Limited
(since April 2016).
Other principal directorships:
Financial Literacy Australia
Limited, Chairman of The
Australian Ballet and Chairman
of Stone and Chalk Limited.
Other interests: Chairman of
the Australian Government’s
Fintech Advisory Group and the
International Standards
Technical Committee on
Blockchain and

Distributed Ledger Technologies
(ISO/TC 307). Member of the
ASIC External Advisory Panel,
and the New South Wales
Government’s Quantum
Computing Fund Advisory Panel.
Board member of Jobs for New
South Wales and Consultant to
King & Wood Mallesons.
Other Westpac related entities
directorships and dates of
office: Nil.
Skills, experience and
expertise: Craig has more than
20 years’ experience in financial
services, including as CEO of
AMP Limited from 2008 to 2013.
Craig was previously a Board
member of the Australian
Japanese Business Cooperation
Committee and the New South
Wales Government’s Financial
Services Knowledge Hub, and
former Chairman of the
Investment and Financial
Services Association (now the
Financial Services Council). He
was also a member of the
Financial Services Advisory
Committee, the Australian
Financial Centre Forum, the
Consumer and Financial
Literacy Taskforce and a Panel
member of the Australian
Government’s Financial System
Inquiry.
Westpac Board Committee
membership: Chairman of the
Board Remuneration
Committee. Member of each of
the Board Nominations and
Board Risk & Compliance
Committees.
Directorships of other listed
entities over the past three
years and dates of office: Nil.

Directors’ report
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 29

Name: Robert Elstone,
BA (Hons.), MA (Econ.), MCom
Age: 64
Term of office: Director since
February 2012.
Date of next scheduled
re-election: Not applicable.
Robert Elstone will retire
following the 2017 AGM.
Independent: Yes.
Current directorships of listed
entities and dates of office: Nil.
Other principal directorships:
University of Western Australia
Business School.
Other interests: Adjunct
Professor at the Business
Schools of the Universities of

Sydney and Western Australia.
Other Westpac related entities
directorships and dates of
office: Nil.
Skills, experience and
expertise: Robert has over
30 years’ experience in senior
management roles spanning
investment banking, corporate
finance, wholesale financial
markets and risk management.
From July 2006 to October 2011,
Robert was Managing Director
and CEO of ASX Limited.
Previously, he was Managing
Director and CEO of the Sydney
Futures Exchange from
May 2000 to July 2006, and from
January 1995 to May 2000, he
was Finance Director of Pioneer
International. Robert was a Non-
executive Director of the
National Australia Bank from
September 2004 to July 2006,
an inaugural member of the
Board of Guardians of the
Future Fund, and former
Chairman of the Financial
Sector Advisory Council to the
Federal Treasurer.
Westpac Board Committee
membership: Member of each
of the Board Audit, Board
Remuneration and Board Risk &
Compliance Committees.
Directorships of other listed
entities over the past three
years and dates of office: Nil.

Name: Peter Hawkins,
BCA (Hons.), SF Fin, FAIM,
ACA (NZ), FAICD
Age: 63
Term of office: Director since
December 2008.
Date of next scheduled
re-election: December 2017.
Independent: Yes.
Current directorships of listed
entities and dates of office:
Mirvac Group (since
January 2006).
Other principal directorships:
Liberty Financial Pty Ltd and
Crestone Holdings Limited.
Other interests: Nil.

Other Westpac related entities
directorships and dates of
office: Member of the Bank of
Melbourne Advisory Board since
November 2010.
Skills, experience and
expertise: Peter’s career in the
banking and financial services
industry spans over 40 years in
Australia and overseas at both
the highest levels of
management and directorship of
major organisations. Peter has
held various senior management
and directorship positions with
Australia and New Zealand
Banking Group Limited from
1971 to 2005.
He was also previously a Director
of BHP (NZ) Steel Limited,
ING Australia Limited, Esanda
Finance Corporation, Visa Inc and
Clayton Utz.
Westpac Board Committee
membership: Chairman of the
Board Technology Committee.
Member of each of the Board
Audit, Board Nominations and
Board Risk & Compliance
Committees.
Directorships of other listed
entities over the past three
years and dates of office: MG
Responsible Entity Limited, which
is the responsible entity for ASX
listed MG Unit Trust (April 2015 to
October 2016).

Name: Peter Marriott,
BEc (Hons.), FCA
Age: 60
Term of office: Director since
June 2013.
Date of next scheduled
re-election: December 2019.
Independent: Yes.
Current directorships of listed
entities and dates of office:
ASX Limited (since July 2009).
Other principal directorships:
ASX Clearing Corporation
Limited, ASX Settlement
Corporation Limited and
Austraclear Limited.

Other interests: Member of the
Review Panel & Policy Council of
the Banking & Finance Oath.
Other Westpac related entities
directorships and dates of
office: Nil.
Skills, experience and
expertise: Peter has over
30 years’ experience in senior
management roles in the finance
industry encompassing
international banking, finance
and auditing. Peter joined
Australia and New Zealand
Banking Group Limited (ANZ) in
1993 and held the role of Chief
Financial Officer from July 1997
to May 2012. Prior to his career
at ANZ, Peter was a banking and
finance, audit and consulting
partner at KPMG Peat Marwick.
Peter was formerly a Director of
ANZ National Bank Limited in
New Zealand and various ANZ
subsidiaries.
Westpac Board Committee
membership: Chairman of the
Board Audit Committee. Member
of each of the Board Nominations,
Board Risk & Compliance and
Board Technology Committees.
Directorships of other listed
entities over the past three
years and dates of office: Nil.
1

30 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
Company Secretary
Our Company Secretaries as at 30 September 2017 were Rebecca Lim and Tim Hartin.
Rebecca Lim (B Econ, LLB (Hons.)) was appointed as a Group Executive effective 1 October 2016, with her title now being
Group Executive, Compliance, Legal & Secretariat
1
, as well as Company Secretary. Rebecca joined Westpac in 2002 and has
held a variety of senior leadership roles including General Manager, Human Resources for St.George Bank and General
Manager, St.George Private Clients. She was appointed Group General Counsel in November 2011 and Chief Compliance
Officer from 2013 to 2017. Rebecca held an in-house role in investment banking at Goldman Sachs in London after which she
joined Westpac on her return to Australia. Rebecca was previously with US firm Skadden Arps where she worked in the
Corporate Finance area in both New York and London. Prior to that she worked at Blake Dawson Waldron (now Ashurst) as a
solicitor.
Tim Hartin (LLB (Hons.)) was appointed Group Company Secretary in November 2011. Before that appointment, Tim was
Head of Legal - Risk Management & Workouts, Counsel & Secretariat and prior to that, he was Counsel, Corporate Core.
Before joining Westpac in 2006, Tim was a Consultant with Gilbert + Tobin, where he provided corporate advisory services to
ASX listed companies. Tim was previously a lawyer at Henderson Boyd Jackson W.S. in Scotland and in London in Herbert
Smith’s corporate and corporate finance division.

2. Executive Team
As at 30 September 2017 our Executive Team was:

Name Position
Year Joined
Group
Year Appointed
to Position
Brian Hartzer Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer 2012 2015
Lyn Cobley Chief Executive, Westpac Institutional Bank 2015 2015
Brad Cooper Chief Executive Officer, BT Financial Group 2007 2010
Dave Curran Chief Information Officer 2014 2014
George Frazis Chief Executive, Consumer Bank 2009 2015
Alexandra Holcomb Chief Risk Officer 1996 2014
Peter King Chief Financial Officer 1994 2014
Rebecca Lim
1
Group Executive, Compliance, Legal & Secretariat 2002 2016
David Lindberg Chief Executive, Business Bank 2012 2015
David McLean Chief Executive Officer, Westpac New Zealand Limited 1999 2015
Christine Parker Group Executive, Human Resources, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability 2007 2011
Gary Thursby Group Executive, Strategy & Enterprise Services 2008 2016

There are no family relationships between or among any of our Directors or Executive Team members.

1
Prior to 2 October 2017, Rebecca Lim’s title was Group General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer.

Directors’ report
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 31

Brian Hartzer BA, CFA. Age 50
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer
Brian was appointed Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer in February 2015. Brian joined Westpac
as Chief Executive, Australian Financial Services in June 2012 encompassing Westpac Retail & Business
Banking, St.George Banking Group and BT Financial Group.
Brian is a Director of the Australian Bankers’ Association and was formerly the Chairman until December
2015. Prior to joining Westpac, Brian spent three years in the UK as CEO for Retail, Wealth and Ulster
Bank at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Prior to that, he spent ten years with Australia and New
Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) in Australia in a variety of roles, including his final role as CEO,
Australia and Global Segment Lead for Retail and Wealth. Before joining ANZ, Brian spent ten years as a
financial services consultant in New York, San Francisco and Melbourne.
Brian graduated from Princeton University with a degree in European History and is a Chartered Financial
Analyst.

Lyn Cobley BEc, SF FIN, GAICD. Age 54
Chief Executive, Westpac Institutional Bank
Lyn was appointed Chief Executive, Westpac Institutional Bank in September 2015. She has responsibility
for Westpac’s global relationships with corporate, institutional and government clients as well as all
products across financial and capital markets, transactional banking, structured finance and working
capital payments. In addition, Lyn oversees Hastings Funds Management as well as Westpac’s
International and Pacific Island businesses.
Lyn has over 25 years’ experience in financial services. Prior to joining Westpac, Lyn held a variety of
senior positions at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia including serving as Group Treasurer from 2007
to 2013 and most recently as Executive General Manager, Retail Products & Third Party Banking. She
was also Head of Financial Institutions at Barclays Capital in Australia, held senior roles at Citibank in
Australia and Asia Pacific including Head of Securitisation and was CEO of Trading Room (a joint venture
between Macquarie Bank and Fairfax).
Lyn is a Board member of the Australian Financial Markets Association (AFMA), the Banking & Finance
Oath and the Westpac Foundation. She is Chairman of Westpac’s Asia Advisory Board and is also a
member of Chief Executive Women.
Lyn has a Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University, is a Senior Fellow of the Financial Services
Institute of Australia and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Brad Cooper DipBM, MBA. Age 55
Chief Executive Officer, BT Financial Group
Brad was appointed Chief Executive Officer, BT Financial Group in February 2010. Brad initially joined
Westpac in April 2007 as Chief Executive, Westpac New Zealand Limited and after successfully leading a
change program in that market, moved to the role of Group Chief Transformation Officer, leading the
Westpac Group’s St.George merger implementation. Prior to joining Westpac, Brad was Chairman of GE
Capital Bank and CEO of GE Consumer Finance UK & Ireland. He drove GE’s UK Six Sigma program and
was certified as a Quality Leader (Black Belt) in December 2002. He was promoted to CEO of GE
Consumer Finance UK in January 2003 and appointed Chairman of GE Capital Bank in April 2004.

Dave Curran BCom. Age 52
Chief Information Officer
Dave was appointed Chief Information Officer in September 2014. Dave has almost 30 years of
experience with proven expertise in IT and financial services and the implementation of large, complex
projects.
Since 2015, Dave has been on the Board of the Westpac Bicentennial Foundation, a $100 million
scholarship fund with exclusive focus on Australian education and leadership.
Before joining Westpac, Dave spent ten years in senior roles at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(CBA). Before joining CBA, he spent sixteen years at Accenture, where he was a partner, primarily
consulting on financial services.
1

32 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report

George Frazis B Eng (Hons.), MBA (AGSM/Wharton). Age 53
Chief Executive, Consumer Bank
George was appointed Chief Executive, Consumer Bank in June 2015, responsible for managing the end
to end relationship with consumer customers. This includes all consumer distribution, digital, marketing,
transformation and banking products and services under the Westpac, St.George, BankSA, Bank of
Melbourne and RAMS brands.
Prior to this appointment, he was CEO, St.George Banking Group. George joined the Westpac Group in
March 2009 as Chief Executive, Westpac New Zealand Limited. George is highly experienced in the
financial services industry. He was formerly Group Executive General Manager at National Australia Bank.
Prior to that, George was a senior executive in Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s Institutional Banking
Division and has also been a partner with the Boston Consulting Group and an officer in the Royal
Australian Air Force. George is a Governor of the St.George Foundation and is Chair of the Prime
Minister’s Industry Advisory Committee on Veterans’ Employment.

Alexandra Holcomb BA, MBA, MA. Age 56
Chief Risk Officer
Alexandra was appointed Chief Risk Officer in August 2014. As Westpac Group’s Chief Risk Officer,
Alexandra is responsible for key risk management activities across the enterprise.
Since joining Westpac in 1996, Alexandra has held a number of senior positions including Group General
Manager, Group Strategy, M&A and Major Projects, Group Executive, Group Strategy, Head of Westpac
Institutional Bank Strategy, and until August 2014 was the Group General Manager of Global
Transactional Services.
Prior to joining Westpac, Alexandra was a senior executive from 1992 to 1996 with Booz Allen & Hamilton
International where she specialised in international credit, working throughout the Asia Pacific region.
Before that, she worked with Chase Manhattan Bank in New York in private and business banking and
international credit audit. She also worked in project finance in Paris and New York for Banque Indosuez
and Barclays Bank respectively.
Alexandra is Deputy Chairman of the Asia Society Australia and serves on the Westpac Foundation Board.
She is a member of Chief Executive Women and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Alexandra has an MBA in Finance and Multinational Management from the Wharton School of Business
and a Master of Arts in International Studies and French from the University of Pennsylvania. She also
holds a BA in English and Economics from Cornell University.

Peter King BEc, FCA. Age 47
Chief Financial Officer
Peter was appointed Chief Financial Officer in April 2014, with responsibility for Westpac’s Finance, Group
Audit, Tax, Treasury and Investor Relations functions. Prior to this appointment, Peter was the Deputy
Chief Financial Officer for three years.
Since joining Westpac in 1994, Peter has held senior finance positions across the Group, including in
Group Finance, Business and Consumer Banking, Business and Technology Services, Treasury and
Financial Markets.
Peter commenced his career at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. He has a Bachelor of Economics from Sydney
University and completed the Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD. He is a Fellow of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Rebecca Lim B Econ, LLB (Hons). Age 45
Group Executive, Compliance, Legal & Secretariat
Rebecca was appointed as Westpac’s Group Executive responsible for compliance, legal and secretariat
functions globally from October 2016. She was appointed Group General Counsel in November 2011 and
was Chief Compliance Officer from 2013 to 2017.
Rebecca joined Westpac in 2002 and has held a variety of other senior leadership roles including General
Manager, Human Resources for St.George Bank and General Manager, St.George Private Clients.
Rebecca began her career at Blake Dawson Waldron (now Ashurst) before joining the US firm Skadden
Arps where she worked in both New York and London. Rebecca then moved into an in-house role in
investment banking at Goldman Sachs in London before returning to Australia and joining Westpac.
Rebecca is Deputy Chair of the GC100 Executive Committee and a member of Chief Executive Women.

Directors’ report
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 33

David Lindberg HBA (Hons. Economics). Age 42
Chief Executive, Business Bank
David was appointed Chief Executive, Business Bank in June 2015. He manages the Group’s end to end
relationships with business customers for the Westpac, St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne
brands. The Business Bank provides a wide range of banking and financial products and services to
Australia’s small, commercial, corporate and agri businesses.
Prior to this appointment, David was Chief Product Officer, responsible for the Group’s retail and business
products across all brands, as well as overseeing the Group’s digital activities. Before joining Westpac in
2012, David was Executive General Manager, Cards, Payments & Retail Strategy at the Commonwealth
Bank of Australia. David was also formerly Managing Director, Strategy, Marketing & Customer
Segmentation at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited and Managing Vice President and
Head of Australia for First Manhattan.

David McLean LLB (Hons.). Age 59
Chief Executive Officer, Westpac New Zealand Limited
David was appointed Chief Executive Officer, Westpac New Zealand Limited in February 2015. Since
joining Westpac in February 1999, David has held a number of senior roles, including Head of Debt Capital
Markets New Zealand, General Manager, Private, Wealth and Insurance New Zealand and Head of
Westpac Institutional Bank New Zealand, and most recently, Managing Director of the Westpac New York
branch.
Before joining Westpac, David was Director, Capital Markets at Deutsche Morgan Grenfell since 1994. He
also established the New Zealand branch of Deutsche Bank and was New Zealand Resident Branch
Manager. In 1988, David joined Southpac/National Bank as a Capital Markets Executive. Prior to this,
David worked as a lawyer in private practice and also served as in‐house counsel for NatWest NZ from
1985. David is a Barrister & Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.
Christine Parker BGDipBus (HRM). Age 57
Group Executive, Human Resources, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability
Christine was appointed Group Executive, Human Resources, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability in
October 2011, with responsibility for human resources strategy and management, including reward and
recognition, safety, learning and development, careers and talent, employee relations and employment
policy. She is also responsible for Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, and Customer Advocacy.
Prior to this appointment, she was Group General Manager, Human Resources, from March 2010, with
responsibilities across the entire Westpac Group. Prior to that, Christine was General Manager, Human
Resources, Westpac New Zealand Limited.
Prior to joining Westpac in 2007, Christine was Group Human Resources Director, Carter Holt Harvey, and
from 1999 to 2004, she was Director of Human Resources with Restaurant Brands New Zealand.
Christine is a Governor of the St.George Foundation and also a Director of Women’s Community Shelters.
Gary Thursby BEc, DipAcc, FCA. Age 55
Group Executive, Strategy & Enterprise Services
Gary was appointed Group Executive Strategy & Enterprise Services in October 2016. In addition to
leading the Group’s strategy function, his role is designed to accelerate the delivery of the Group’s Service
Revolution and provide services to support the Group’s operating businesses.
Gary’s responsibilities also include banking operations, procurement, property, analytics, and enterprise
investments. In addition, Gary oversees the Group’s mergers & acquisitions and business development
portfolios.
Before joining Westpac in 2008, Gary held a number of senior finance roles at Commonwealth Bank of
Australia (CBA) including Deputy CFO and CFO Retail Bank. Gary has over 20 years’ experience in
financial services, covering finance, M&A and large scale program delivery. He commenced his career at
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
Gary has a Bachelor of Economics and a Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting from Flinders University of
South Australia and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

1

34 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
3. Report on the business
Principal activities a)
The principal activities of the Group during the financial year ended 30 September 2017 were the provision of financial services
including lending, deposit taking, payments services, investment portfolio management and advice, superannuation and funds
management, insurance services, leasing finance, general finance, interest rate risk management and foreign exchange
services.
There have been no significant changes in the nature of the principal activities of the Group during 2017.
Operating and financial review
b)
The net profit attributable to equity holders of Westpac for the financial year ended 30 September 2017 was $7,990 million, an
increase of $545 million or 7% compared to 2016. Key features of this result were:
 a 4% increase in net operating income before operating expenses and impairment charges with:
– net interest income of $15,516 million, an increase of $368 million or 2% compared to 2016, with total loan growth of 3%
and a 4 basis point decrease in net interest margin to 2.06%; and
– non-interest income of $6,286 million, an increase of $449 million or 8% compared to 2016, primarily due to a $279
million gain associated with the sale of shares in BT Investment Management Limited (BTIM), a rise in trading income of
$78 million and the impact of volatility in economic hedges of $140 million. These increases were partly offset by
provisions for customer refunds and lower wealth management and insurance income;
 operating expenses were $9,434 million, an increase of $217 million or 2% compared to 2016 due to annual salary and
rental increases, higher technology expenses related to the Group’s investment program, a rise in regulatory and
compliance costs and expenses associated with the sale of shares in BTIM. These increases were partially offset by
productivity benefits; and
 impairment charges were $853 million, a decrease of $271 million or 24% compared to 2016. Asset quality remained
sound, with stressed exposures as a percentage of total committed exposures at 1.05%, down 15 basis points over the
year. The decrease in impairment charges was primarily due to significantly lower large individual provisions. Additional
provisioning for these larger facilities was required in 2016, following the downgrade to impaired.
A review of the operations of the Group and its divisions and their results for the financial year ended 30 September 2017 is set
out in Section 2 of the Annual Report under the sections ‘Review of Group operations’, ‘Divisional performance’ and ‘Risk and
risk management’, which form part of this report.
Further information about our financial position and financial results is included in the financial statements in Section 3 of this
Annual Report, which form part of this report.
Dividends
c)
Since 30 September 2017, Westpac has announced a final ordinary dividend of 94 cents per Westpac ordinary share, totalling
approximately $3,191 million for the year ended 30 September 2017 (2016 final ordinary dividend of 94 cents per Westpac
ordinary share, totalling approximately $3,145 million). The dividend will be fully franked and will be paid on 22 December 2017.
An interim ordinary dividend for the current financial year of 94 cents per Westpac ordinary share for the half year ended
31 March 2017, totalling $3,156 million, was paid as a fully franked dividend on 4 July 2017 (2016 interim ordinary dividend of
94 cents per Westpac ordinary share, totalling $3,136 million). The payment comprised direct cash disbursements of
$2,031 million with $1,125 million being reinvested by participants through the DRP.
Further, in respect of the year ended 30 September 2016, a fully franked final dividend of 94 cents per ordinary share totalling
$3,145 million was paid on 21 December 2016. The payment comprised direct cash disbursements of $2,818 million with
$327 million being reinvested by participants through the DRP.
New shares were issued to satisfy the DRP for each of the 2016 final ordinary dividend and the 2017 interim ordinary dividend.
Significant changes in state of affairs and events during and since the end of the 2017 financial year
d)
Significant changes in the state of affairs of the Group were:
 introduction of the Federal Government’s Bank Levy for ADIs. The Bank Levy cost Westpac $95 million in Full Year 2017,
with an after tax impact of $66 million and is estimated to cost Westpac approximately $405 million in Full Year 2018, with
an after tax impact of approximately $284 million;
 the sale by Westpac of 60 million shares in BTIM for $10.75 per share;
 the issuance of US$1.25 billion AT1 securities, which qualify as Additional Tier 1 capital under APRA’s capital adequacy
framework;
 the proposed sale by Westpac of its interest in Hastings Management Pty Limited, which is subject to confirmatory due
diligence and regulatory approvals; and

Directors’ report
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 35
 ongoing regulatory changes and developments, which have included changes relating to liquidity, capital, financial
services, taxation, executive accountability and other regulatory requirements.
For a discussion of these matters, please refer to ‘Significant developments’ in Section 1 under ‘Information on Westpac’.
The Directors are not aware of any other matter or circumstance that has occurred since the end of the financial year that has
significantly affected or may significantly affect the operations of the Group, the results of these operations or the state of affairs
of the Group in subsequent financial years.
Business strategies, developments and expected results
e)
Our business strategies, prospects and likely major developments in the Group’s operations in future financial years and the
expected results of those operations are discussed in Section 1 of the Annual Report under ‘Information on Westpac’, including
under ‘Outlook’ and ‘Significant developments’.
Further information on our business strategies and prospects for future financial years and likely developments in our
operations and the expected results of operations have not been included in this report because the Directors believe it would
be likely to result in unreasonable prejudice to us.
4. Directors’ interests
Directors’ interests in securities a)
The following particulars for each Director are set out in the Remuneration Report in Section 10 of the Directors’ report for the
year ended 30 September 2017 and in the tables below:
 their relevant interests in our shares or the shares of any of our related bodies corporate;
 their relevant interests in debentures of, or interests in, any registered managed investment scheme made available by us
or any of our related bodies corporate;
 their rights or options over shares in, debentures of, or interests in, any registered managed investment scheme made
available by us or any of our related bodies corporate; and
 any contracts:
– to which the Director is a party or under which they are entitled to a benefit; and
– that confer a right to call for or deliver shares in, debentures of, or interests in, any registered managed investment
scheme made available by us or any of our related bodies corporate.
1

36 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
Directors’ interests in Westpac and related bodies corporate as at 6 November 2017


Number of Relevant Interests in
Westpac
Ordinary Shares
Number of Westpac
Share Rights
Westpac
CPS
Westpac Banking Corporation

Current Directors

Lindsay Maxsted 20,689

-

-
Brian Hartzer 77,427
1
569,426
2
-
Nerida Caesar
-

-

-
Ewen Crouch 36,450
3
-

-
Alison Deans
9,392

-

-
Craig Dunn
8,869

-

-
Robert Elstone 12,096

-

-
Peter Hawkins
15,880
4
-

1,370
Peter Marriott
20,870

-

-
1
Brian Hartzer’s interest in Westpac ordinary shares includes 20,222 restricted shares held under the CEO Restricted Share Plan.
2
Share rights issued under the CEO Long Term Incentive Plan and Long Term Incentive Plan.
3
Ewen Crouch and his related bodies corporate also hold relevant interests in 250 Westpac Capital Notes 2.
4
Peter Hawkins and his related bodies corporate also hold relevant interests in 850 Westpac Capital Notes 3 and 882 Westpac Capital Notes 4.

Note: Certain subsidiaries of Westpac offer a range of registered schemes. The Directors from time to time invest in these schemes and are required to
provide a statement to the ASX when any of their interests in these schemes change. ASIC has exempted each Director from the obligation to notify the
ASX of a relevant interest in a security that is an interest in BT Cash Management Trust (ARSN 087 531 539), BT Premium Cash Fund (ARSN 089 299
730), Westpac Cash Management Trust (ARSN 088 187 928), BT Wholesale Managed Cash Fund (ARSN 088 832 491), BT Wholesale Enhanced Cash
Fund (ARSN 088 863 469), Advance Cash Multi-Blend Fund (ARSN 094 113 050) or BT Cash (ARSN 164 257 854).

Directors’ report
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 37
Indemnities and insurance b)
Under the Westpac Constitution, unless prohibited by statute, we indemnify each of the Directors and Company Secretaries of
Westpac and of each of our related bodies corporate (except related bodies corporate listed on a recognised stock exchange),
each employee of Westpac or our subsidiaries (except subsidiaries listed on a recognised stock exchange), and each person
acting as a responsible manager under an Australian Financial Services Licence of any of Westpac’s wholly-owned
subsidiaries against every liability (other than a liability for legal costs) incurred by each such person in their capacity as
director, company secretary, employee or responsible manager, as the case may be; and all legal costs incurred in defending
or resisting (or otherwise in connection with) proceedings, whether civil or criminal or of an administrative or investigatory
nature, in which the person becomes involved because of that capacity.
Each of the Directors named in this Directors’ report and each of the Company Secretaries of Westpac has the benefit of
this indemnity.
Consistent with shareholder approval at the 2000 Annual General Meeting, Westpac has entered into a Deed of Access and
Indemnity with each of the Directors, which includes indemnification in identical terms to that provided in the Westpac
Constitution.
Westpac also executed a deed poll in September 2009 providing indemnification equivalent to that provided under the Westpac
Constitution to individuals acting as:
 statutory officers (other than as a director) of Westpac;
 directors and other statutory officers of wholly-owned subsidiaries of Westpac; and
 directors and statutory officers of other nominated companies as approved by Westpac in accordance with the terms of the
deed poll and Westpac’s Contractual Indemnity Policy.
Some employees of Westpac’s related bodies corporate and responsible managers of Westpac and its related bodies
corporate are also currently covered by a deed poll that was executed in November 2004, which is in similar terms to the
September 2009 deed poll.
The Westpac Constitution also permits us, to the extent permitted by law, to pay or agree to pay premiums for contracts
insuring any person who is or has been a Director or Company Secretary of Westpac or any of its related bodies corporate
against liability incurred by that person in that capacity, including a liability for legal costs, unless:
 we are forbidden by statute to pay or agree to pay the premium; or
 the contract would, if we paid the premium, be made void by statute.
Under the September 2009 deed poll, Westpac also agrees to provide directors’ and officers’ insurance to Directors of Westpac
and Directors of Westpac’s wholly-owned subsidiaries.
For the year ended 30 September 2017, the Group has insurance cover which, in certain circumstances, will provide
reimbursement for amounts which we have to pay under the indemnities set out above. That cover is subject to the terms and
conditions of the relevant insurance, including but not limited to the limit of indemnity provided by the insurance. The insurance
policies prohibit disclosure of the premium payable and the nature of the liabilities covered.
Options and share rights outstanding
c)
As at the date of this report there are 256,840 share options outstanding and 5,107,825 share rights outstanding in relation to
Westpac ordinary shares. The expiry date of the share options range between 17 December 2017 and 1 October 2018 and the
weighted average exercise price is $26.36. The latest dates for exercise of the share rights range between 17 December 2017
and 1 October 2032.
Holders of outstanding share options and share rights in relation to Westpac ordinary shares do not have any rights under the
share options and share rights to participate in any share issue or interest of Westpac or any other body corporate.
Proceedings on behalf of Westpac
d)
No application has been made and no proceedings have been brought or intervened in, on behalf of Westpac under
section 237 of the Corporations Act.


1

38 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
5. Environmental disclosure
As part of our 2017 Sustainability Strategy, we have set
targets for our environmental performance. The Westpac
Group’s environmental framework starts with ‘Our Principles
for Doing Business’, which outline our broad environmental
principles. This framework includes:
 our Westpac Group Environment Policy, which has
been in place since 1992;
 our Sustainability Risk Management Framework;
 our Responsible Sourcing Code of Conduct; and
 public reporting of our environmental performance.
We also participate in a number of voluntary initiatives
including the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, CDP
1
, the
Equator Principles, the Principles for Responsible
Investment, the United Nations Global Compact and the
Banking Environment Initiative’s Soft Commodities Compact.
The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007
(Cth) (National Greenhouse Act) came into effect in
July 2008. The Group reports on greenhouse gas emissions,
energy consumption and production under the National
Greenhouse Act for the period 1 July through 30 June
each year.
The Group was previously subject to the reporting
requirements of the Energy Efficiency Opportunities Act
2006 (Cth) (EEO Act). The Commonwealth Government
repealed the EEO Act, effective from 29 June 2014.
Accordingly, all obligations and activities under the EEO
Program, including reporting requirements, have ceased.
2

Our operations are not subject to any other significant
environmental regulation under any law of the
Commonwealth of Australia or of any state or territory of
Australia. We may, however, become subject to
environmental regulation as a result of our lending activities
in the ordinary course of business and we have policies in
place to ensure that this potential risk is addressed as part of
our normal processes.
We have not incurred any liability (including for rectification
costs) under any environmental legislation.
Further details on our environmental performance, including
information on our climate change approach, details of our
emissions profile and environmental footprint, and progress
against our environmental targets and carbon neutral
program are available on our website at
www.westpac.com.au/sustainability.

1
Formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project.
2
Westpac implemented energy efficiency opportunities that are
expected to result in estimated energy savings of 14,964GJ, carbon
savings of 2,858 tCO2e and cost savings of $791,544 per year.
6. Human rights supply chain disclosure
Westpac’s overall approach to human rights is set out in our
Westpac Group Human Rights Position Statement, and this
references our Responsible Sourcing Code of Conduct as
the primary framework for managing human rights in our
supply chain.
The Group is subject to the United Kingdom’s Transparency
in Supply Chains provisions under the Modern Slavery Act
2015, which came into effect in March 2015. Westpac
releases an annual statement each year for the period
ended 30 September to disclose the steps taken during the
year to help prevent modern slavery from occurring within
the Group’s operations and supply chain.
7. Rounding of amounts
Westpac is an entity to which ASIC Corporations Instrument
2016/191 dated 24 March 2016, relating to the rounding of
amounts in directors’ reports and financial reports, applies.
Pursuant to this Instrument, amounts in this Directors’ report
and the accompanying financial report have been rounded to
the nearest million dollars, unless indicated to the contrary.
8. Political expenditure
In line with Westpac policy, no cash donations were made to
political parties during the financial year ended
30 September 2017.
In Australia, political expenditure for the financial year ended
30 September 2017 was $162,726. This relates to payment
for participation in legitimate political activities where they
were assessed to be of direct business relevance to
Westpac. Such activities include business observer
programs attached to annual party conferences, policy
dialogue forums and other political functions, such as
speeches and events with industry participants.
In New Zealand, political expenditure for the financial year
ended 30 September 2017 was NZD$2,756. In line with
Westpac policy, no cash donations were made to political
parties in New Zealand during the year.

Directors’ report
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 39
9. Directors’ meetings
Each Director attended the following meetings of the Board and Committees of the Board during the financial year ended
30 September 2017:

Notes Board
Audit
Committee
Risk & Compliance
Committee
Nominations
Committee
Remuneration
Committee
Technology
Committee
Number of meetings
held during the year


Directo
r A B A B A B A B A B A B
Lindsay Maxsted 1
9 9 4 4 4 4 4 4 - - - -
Brian Hartzer 2 9 9 - - - - - - - - 4 4
Elizabeth Bryan 3
2 2 - - 1 1 1 1 2 2 - -
Nerida Caesar 4
1 1 - - - - - - - - - -
Ewen Crouch 5
9 9 - - 4 4 4 4 6 6 - -
Alison Deans 6
9 9 - - 4 4 - - - - 4 4
Craig Dunn 7
9 9 - - 4 4 3 3 6 6 - -
Robert Elstone 8
9 9 4 4 4 4 - - 6 6 - -
Peter Hawkins 9
9 9 4 4 4 3 4 4 - - 4 4
Peter Marriott 10
9 9 4 4 4 4 4 4 - - 4 4

This table shows membership of standing Committees of the Board. From time to time the Board may form other committees or
request Directors to undertake specific extra duties.
A - Meetings eligible to attend as a member B - Meetings attended as a member
Unless otherwise stated, each Director has been a member, or the Chairman, of the relevant Committee for the whole of the
period from 1 October 2016.
1
Chairman of the Board Nominations Committee. Member of the Board Audit Committee and the Board Risk & Compliance Committee.
2
Member of the Board Technology Committee.
3
Elizabeth Bryan retired from the Board and its Committees on 9 December 2016.
4
Nerida Caesar was appointed as a Director on 1 September 2017. Member of the Board Risk & Compliance Committee and Board Technology
Committee from 28 September 2017.
5
Chairman of the Board Risk & Compliance Committee from 9 December 2016. Chairman of the Board Remuneration Committee, and member of the
Board Risk & Compliance Committee, until 9 December 2016. Member of the Board Nominations Committee and from 9 December 2016, a member
of the Board Remuneration Committee.
6
Member of the Board Risk & Compliance Committee and the Board Technology Committee.
7
Chairman of the Board Remuneration Committee from 9 December 2016. Member of the Board Remuneration Committee until 9 December 2016.
Member of the Board Risk & Compliance Committee, and from 9 December 2016, a member of the Board Nominations Committee.
8
Member of the Board Remuneration Committee, the Board Risk & Compliance Committee and the Board Audit Committee.
9
Chairman of the Board Technology Committee. Member of the Board Audit Committee, the Board Nominations Committee and the Board Risk &
Compliance Committee.
10
Chairman of the Board Audit Committee. Member of the Board Risk & Compliance Committee, the Board Technology Committee and the Board
Nominations Committee.



1

40 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
10. Remuneration Report
Introduction from the Chairman of the Board Remuneration Committee

Dear Shareholder,
We are pleased to present Westpac’s 2017 Remuneration Report (Report).
The past year has seen significant developments in the banking industry relating to remuneration. The Banking Executive
Accountability Regime (BEAR) will be put before Parliament and the Retail Banking Remuneration Review commissioned by
the Australian Banker’s Association (known as the Sedgwick report) was released earlier this year.
A comprehensive review is being undertaken in anticipation of the enactment of the BEAR legislation to ensure that our CEO
and Group Executive remuneration framework and principles remain consistent with both the letter and spirit of legislative
developments. While this review is underway in 2018, the remuneration framework will remain unchanged and be consistent
with the 2017 structures outlined in this Report.
We are also committed to implementing fully the recommendations of the Sedgwick report, which we are addressing in a
phased manner over the next three years. To date we have made significant progress on implementing around three quarters
of the recommendations, with good progress made on implementation of the remaining recommendations as we develop
appropriate support systems, frameworks and metrics. For example, in November 2016 we removed all product-related
incentives from around 2,000 tellers in the Westpac branch network.
2017 Remuneration outcomes – the link to Group performance
Each year the Board assesses a number of factors when determining remuneration outcomes. In addition to the financial
results included in Short-term Incentive (STI) balanced scoreboards, the Committee assesses other elements of performance
such as the quality of the results, key performance drivers, meeting customer needs, the risk and operating environment and
effectiveness of implementation of strategic initiatives to determine if the scoreboard outcomes adequately reflect actual
performance and returns to shareholders.
In what continues to be a challenging and competitive business environment, the Group’s financial performance was sound.
There was moderate growth in cash earnings and earnings per share, with marginal declines in return on equity and economic
profit, as capital and funding positions were strengthened further to position the Group to meet APRA’s unquestionably strong
benchmark. Significant improvements were achieved in net promoter scores (NPS) for customers, with Westpac being rated
with the highest overall NPS among major Australian banks for the first time in September 2017; employee engagement scores
also increased significantly, with outcomes achieved above the high performing global norm. This year we also retained our
position as the most sustainable bank globally in the 2017 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for the fourth year running.
STI outcomes
It is against these outcomes that the short and long-term incentives were determined. STI outcomes during the year for the
CEO and the Group Executive team averaged 109% of target, up by an average of 14% on last year, and were within a range
of 96% to 116%. Different incentive outcomes across the Group Executive team reflect the performance of each division and
the quality of the performance delivered by the accountable executive.
Long-term Incentive (LTI) outcomes
In 2017, the 2014 LTI reached its test date. As the minimum performance vesting thresholds were not met, none of the 2014
LTI will vest.
More specifically:
 Westpac’s LTI plan Total Shareholder Return (TSR) over the last three years was 11.791%, which was below the 50th
percentile vesting threshold, so none of the 2014 TSR hurdled rights vested. This is the third consecutive year where the
TSR hurdle has not been met; and
 Westpac’s Cash Earnings per Share (EPS) growth over the last three years was also below the vesting threshold of 15.8%
(5.0% compound annual growth), so none of the 2014 EPS hurdled rights vested.

Directors’ report
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 41
Changes to Key Management Personnel in 2017
The appointment effective 1 October 2016 of Rebecca Lim as the Group General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer
1
and
Gary Thursby as Group Executive, Strategy & Enterprise Services was advised in last year’s Report, and their remuneration
details for the full 2017 period have been disclosed.
Philip Coffey retired during the year, after 21 years with Westpac.
This year we have made some minor changes to the way that we have presented the information in our Report, with the aim of
improving its format and layout.
We welcome your feedback as we continue to improve the disclosure of our remuneration policies, practices and outcomes.



Craig Dunn
Chairman – Board Remuneration Committee

1
Rebecca Lim’s title was amended to Group Executive, Compliance, Legal & Secretariat effective 2 October 2017.
1

42 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
Topics covered in this Report
Section 1
List of 2017 Key Management Personnel
Section 2
Summary of 2017 CEO and Group Executive remuneration strategy and framework
Section 3
Summary of 2017 remuneration outcomes including:
 remuneration paid and vested;
 equity awarded;
 LTI and STI outcomes; and
 further details on the link to Group performance
Section 4
Further detail on 2017 executive remuneration structure
Section 5
Remuneration governance
Section 6
Non-executive Director remuneration structure
Section 7
Statutory remuneration disclosures including:
 Non-executive Director remuneration;
 CEO and Group Executive remuneration; and
 additional statutory disclosures

Note: All references to Return on Equity (ROE) in this remuneration report are on a cash ROE basis. Refer to the
Glossary of abbreviations and defined terms for more detail.

Directors’ report
2017 Westpac Group Annual Report 43
1. Key Management Personnel remuneration disclosed in this Report
The remuneration of Key Management Personnel (KMP) for the Group is disclosed in this Report. In 2017, KMP comprised
Non-executive Directors, the CEO and Group Executives who reported to the CEO.

CEO and Group Executives

Name Position Term as KMP
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer
Brian Hartzer Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer Full Year
Current Group Executives

Lyn Cobley Chief Executive, Westpac Institutional Bank Full Year
Brad Cooper Chief Executive Officer, BT Financial Group Full Year
Dave Curran Chief Information Officer Full Year
George Frazis Chief Executive, Consumer Bank Full Year
Alexandra Holcomb Chief Risk Officer Full Year
Peter King Chief Financial Officer Full Year
Rebecca Lim Group General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer Commenced 1 October 2016
David Lindberg Chief Executive, Business Bank Full Year
David McLean Chief Executive Officer, Westpac New Zealand Limited Full Year
Christine Parker Group Executive, Human Resources, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Full Year
Gary Thursby Group Executive, Strategy & Enterprise Services Commenced 1 October 2016
Former Group Executive

Philip Coffey Deputy Chief Executive Officer Ceased role 31 May 2017


Non-executive Directors

Name Position Term as KMP
Current Non-executive Directors
Lindsay Maxsted Chairman Full Year
Nerida Caesar Director Appointed 1 September 2017
Ewen Crouch Director Full Year
Alison Deans Director Full Year
Craig Dunn Director Full Year
Robert Elstone Director Full Year
Peter Hawkins Director Full Year
Peter Marriott Director Full Year
Former Non-executive Director
Elizabeth Bryan Director Retired 9 December 2016

1

44 2017 Westpac Group Annual Report
2. Summary of the 2017 CEO and Group Executive remuneration framework
Cash STI (50%)
Deferred STI Cash STI
Short-term Incentive (STI)
Westpac’s remuneration strategy is designed to attract and retain talented employees by rewarding them for achieving high
performance and delivering superior long term results for our customers and shareholders, while adhering to sound management
and governance principles and reflecting accountability.
The remuneration framework is designed to:
 align remuneration with customer and shareholder interests;
 support appropriate risk culture and employee conduct;
 differentiate pay for behaviour and performance in line with our
strategy and vision;
Remuneration Principles
Fixed Remuneration
Long-term Incentive (LTI)
At Risk Remuneration (Variable Reward)
Fixed remuneration comprises:
 cash salary;
 salary sacrificed items; and
 superannuation contributions.
STI delivered as:
 50% cash; and
 50% restricted ordinary shares or
share rights (for Group Executives
outside Australia
).
LTI comprises:
 performance share rights which
may vest to varying degrees if
performance hurdles are achieved.
Total Reward Framework
Timeline of potential 2017 remuneration
Performance, governance and risk-adjustment overlay
All performance is assessed by the Board with reference to Group and divisional risk management policies. The Board retains the
ultimate discretion to adjust remuneration outcomes and/or unvested variable reward (including to zero). This applies to equity granted
under both the deferred STI and LTI plans if information comes to light that all or part of the award was not justified (malus).
FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20
Deferred STI (25%)
Deferred STI (25%)
STI
LTI
Fixed
remuneration
Base salary
LTI subject to Relative TSR performance (50%) – measured over 4 years
LTI subject to ROE performance (50%) – measured over 3 years
+1 year holding
All equity based
remuneration is
subject to:
 reduction via malus (if
required); and
 potential further
restrictions to ensure
minimum shareholder
requirements are met.
Rewards financial and non-financial
performance consistent with the
Group’s strategy over the short to
medium term. The deferred
component provides:
 alignment with shareholders over the
medium term; and
 at risk pay with malus provisions.
STI performance measures include
economic profit, earnings, risk,
strategic programs, customer
outcomes, people and sustainability.
The STI performance measures have
been selected to ensure focus in these
key areas.
Aligns executive accountability
and remuneration outcomes with
the delivery of sustained group
performance and shareholder
interests over the long term. The
LTI is also subject to adjustments
via malus provisions during the
performance period if required.
LTI performance measures (50:50):
 TSR is a comparative measure of
Westpac’s performance relative to
peers; and
 ROE aims to reward achievement
of returns above the cost of capital
while generating shareholder value.
34%
34%
32%
Target
pay mix
Purpose
Delivery
FY17
approach
Provided to attract and retain
executives, and takes into
account the size and complexity
of the role, individual
responsibilities, experience and
skills.
Fixed remuneration is set with
reference to relevant market
benchmarks in the financial
services industry.
 provide market competitive and fair remuneration;
 enable recruitment and retention of talented employees;
 provide the ability to risk adjust remuneration; and
 be simple, flexible and transparent.
Date paid
Date earned
Date granted Vesting date