Australia-owned Westpac is considering selling off its New Zealand business, the banking corporation confirmed today.
In a statement to the NZX shortly before closing today, Westpac said it's been "actively considering the businesses we operate in".
Employing 4500 workers in New Zealand, the business is the nation's third-largest bank.
"Westpac is also assessing the appropriate structure for its New Zealand business and whether a demerger would be in the best interests of shareholders," it says.
"Westpac is in the very early stage of this assessment and no decisions have been made."
The bank has been involved in New Zealand for around 160 years, it says.
Earlier today, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) ordered two reviews of Westpac New Zealand after finding it breached liquidity requirements between 2012 and 2020.
"Westpac NZ needs to take a close look at its risk governance practices," Reserve Bank deputy governor Geoff Bascand says.
"We have experienced ongoing compliance issues with Westpac NZ over recent years, most recently involving material failures to report liquidity correctly."
The decisions around a sale would "consider the impact" of the announced reviews, Westpac says.
"However, given the changing capital requirements in New Zealand and the RBNZ requirement to structurally separate Westpac’s NZ business operations from its operations in Australia, it is now appropriate to assess the best structure for these businesses going forward. Westpac will provide further updates as required."
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