UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

 

FORM 6-K

 

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16
UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

November 30, 2021

 

Commission File Number 1-10167

 

WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION

(Translation of registrant’s name into English)

 

275 KENT STREET, SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES 2000, AUSTRALIA

(Address of principal executive office)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports

under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

 

Form 20-F      x            Form 40-F      ¨

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ¨

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ¨

 

 

 

 

 

 

Incorporation by Reference

 

The information contained in this Report on Form 6-K, excluding the information set forth in Exhibit No. 1 and Exhibit No. 2, shall be incorporated by reference in the prospectuses relating to the Registrant’s securities contained in the Registrant’s Registration Statements on Form F-3 (File Nos. 333-260702 and 333-260703), as such prospectuses may be amended or supplemented from time to time.

 

Westpac and ASIC reach agreement on six regulatory matters

 

Westpac has announced today that it has reached agreement with ASIC to resolve six separate longstanding matters through agreed civil penalty proceedings filed in the Federal Court of Australia. The issues have all been previously disclosed and are summarised in the table below.

 

These matters follow regulatory investigations conducted by ASIC, many instigated following the issues being self-reported by Westpac, including some which were raised during the Royal Commission.

 

The majority of affected customers have been compensated, and any remaining payments will be completed as quickly as possible.

 

Westpac and ASIC will jointly submit agreed proposed penalties for each of the proceedings, totalling $113 million. These penalties are subject to court approval and have been substantially provisioned (together with anticipated legal costs) in Westpac’s Full Year 2021 results. Westpac and ASIC have also prepared Statements of Agreed Facts for each matter.

 

Westpac will continue to work cooperatively with ASIC to resolve the proceedings as quickly as possible.

 

Table 1. List of matters agreed between Westpac and ASIC.

 

Matter Name Overview
Debt Sales Investigation into the provision of incorrect interest rate information provided by Westpac to debt purchasers.
Deceased Estates Investigation into the charging of advice related fees to deceased customer accounts.
General Insurance Investigation into the incorrect issuing of duplicate general insurance policies (home and contents and landlord insurance policies) without a customer’s consent.
Contribution Fees Investigation into inadequate disclosure of adviser fees received for certain super & investment products.
Deregistered Companies Investigation into the process for identification and management of deregistered companies, and the subsequent rectification.
Insurance in Super Investigation into insurance in superannuation products offered by BT where customers were inadvertently charged additional advisor commissions.

 

 

 

 

Index to Exhibits

 

Exhibit
No.
  Description
     
1   ASX Release – Westpac and ASIC reach agreement on six regulatory matters
2   ASX Release – Westpac notes APRA’s release of its final capital framework

 

Disclosure regarding forward-looking statements

 

The information contained in this Report on Form 6-K contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are statements about matters that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this Report and include statements regarding our intent, belief or current expectations with respect to our business and operations, macro and micro economic and market conditions, results of operations and financial condition.

 

We use words such as ‘will’, ‘may’, ‘expect’, ‘indicative’, ‘intend’, ‘seek’, ‘would’, ‘should’, ‘could’, ‘continue’, ‘plan’, ‘aim’, ‘probability’, ‘risk’, ‘forecast’, ‘likely’, ‘estimate’, ‘anticipate’, ‘believe’ or other similar words to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are subject to change, certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are, in many instances, beyond our control and have been made based upon management’s expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effect upon us. There can be no assurance that future developments will be in accordance with our expectations or that the effect of future developments on us will be those anticipated. Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the expectations described in this Report. Factors that may impact on the forward-looking statements made include, but are not limited to, those described in the section entitled ‘Risk factors’ in Westpac’s 2021 Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the ongoing impact of COVID-19. When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to us, investors and others should carefully consider such factors and other uncertainties and events. We are under no obligation, and do not intend, to update any forward-looking statements contained in this Report, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this Report.

 

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

      WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION
      (Registrant)
         
Date: November 30, 2021   By: /s/ Yvette Adiguzel
        Yvette Adiguzel
        Tier One Attorney

 

 

 

Exhibit 1

 

 

ASX   Level 18, 275 Kent Street
Sydney, NSW, 2000

 

Release

 

 

30 November 2021

 

Westpac and ASIC reach agreement on six regulatory matters

 

Westpac has announced today that it has reached agreement with ASIC to resolve six separate longstanding matters through agreed civil penalty proceedings filed in the Federal Court of Australia. The issues have all been previously disclosed and are summarised in the table below.

 

These matters follow regulatory investigations conducted by ASIC, many instigated following the issues being self-reported by Westpac, including some which were raised during the Royal Commission.

 

The majority of affected customers have been compensated, and any remaining payments will be completed as quickly as possible.

 

Westpac CEO, Peter King, said: “As flagged, we have been working to resolve a number of outstanding regulatory matters before the Bank. We have cooperated with ASIC through the investigations and the process to get to this resolution today.”

 

“This outcome is an important step forward for us as we continue to fix issues and build stronger risk foundations.

 

“In each of these matters, Westpac has fallen short of our standards and the standards our customers expect of us. The issues raised in these matters should not have occurred, and our processes, systems and monitoring should have been better. We are putting things right and unreservedly apologise to our customers,” Mr King said.

 

Westpac and ASIC will jointly submit agreed proposed penalties for each of the proceedings, totalling $113 million. These penalties are subject to court approval and have been substantially provisioned (together with anticipated legal costs) in Westpac’s Full Year 2021 results. Westpac and ASIC have also prepared Statements of Agreed Facts for each matter.

 

Westpac will continue to work cooperatively with ASIC to resolve the proceedings as quickly as possible.

 

Ends.

 

For further information:

 

David Lording   Andrew Bowden 
Group Head of Media Relations   Head of Investor Relations
0419 683 411   0438 284 863

 

This document has been authorised for release by Tim Hartin, General Manager & Company Secretary.

 

 

 

 

 

Table 1. List of matters agreed between Westpac and ASIC.

 

Matter Name Overview
Debt Sales Investigation into the provision of incorrect interest rate information provided by Westpac to debt purchasers.
Deceased Estates Investigation into the charging of advice related fees to deceased customer accounts.
General Insurance Investigation into the incorrect issuing of duplicate general insurance policies (home and contents and landlord insurance policies) without a customer’s consent.
Contribution Fees Investigation into inadequate disclosure of adviser fees received for certain super & investment products.
Deregistered Companies Investigation into the process for identification and management of deregistered companies, and the subsequent rectification.
Insurance in Super Investigation into insurance in superannuation products offered by BT where customers were inadvertently charged additional advisor commissions.

 

 

Exhibit 2

  

 

ASX   Level 18, 275 Kent Street
Sydney, NSW, 2000

 

Release

 

  

30 NOVEMBER 2021

 

Westpac notes APRA’s release of its final capital framework

 

Westpac Banking Corporation (“Westpac”) has welcomed the release by APRA of its final capital framework today, which will be effective from 1 January 2023.

 

Westpac is strongly capitalised with a Common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio of 12.3% (based on the current capital framework) at 30 September 2021 and we expect to remain well capitalised under the new capital framework.

 

APRA has noted that as Australian banks already meet the unquestionable strong benchmarks set by APRA in 2017, the new framework does not require banks to raise additional capital.

 

Key elements of the final framework as it will apply to major banks include:

 

•      A CET1 capital ratio requirement of 10.25%, comprising:

A minimum CET1 capital ratio of 4.5% (no change);

A capital conservation buffer of 3.75% (previously 2.5%);

A domestic systemically important buffer of 1% (no change); and

‒      A countercyclical capital buffer of 1.0% (previously nil).

•      Updates to the determination of risk weighted assets.

 

We are working through the impact of these changes and expect to provide more details with our 1H22 Results in May 2022.

 

For further information:

 

David Lording   Andrew Bowden 
Group Head of Media Relations   Head of Investor Relations
M. 0419 683 411   M. 0438 284 863

 

This document has been authorised for release by Tim Hartin, General Manager & Company Secretary.