Westpac Banking : 26/05/2017 Westpac Named Australian Financial Institution of the Year

26 May, 2017

Westpac's focus on helping its customers and providing them with the best support and advice across a whole range of their financial needs has contributed to it being named Australian Financial Institution of the Year at Australia's premier retail financial services awards, at the 27 Annual Retail Banking Awards hosted in Sydney last night.

As well as being named Australian Financial Institution of the Year, the top honour of the night, the Financial Services Executive of the Year was awarded to Westpac's Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Phil Coffey.

Accepting the award for Australian Financial Institution of the Year, Bernadette Inglis, Group General Manager Westpac Retail & Premium Bank said:

'It's an exceptional privilege to accept this award and to have Westpac recognised as the best in banking. There is so much to be proud of in our 200th year and I would like to thank our people who continue to deliver great service to our customers. We can be proud of what we do, every day, through market-leading innovation, our focus on world-class service and our commitment to help our customers, people and communities to prosper and grow.'

Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Phil Coffey was recognised for the enormous contribution he has made to both Westpac and the wider industry throughout his distinguished 30 plus year career.

'With four days to retire, this award is certainly a very special farewell gift, which I'm truly honoured to accept. I have been at Westpac for 21 years and in banking for 38 years and I'm incredibly proud to be part of financial services. I have had the great fortune to work with inspiring, developing and caring teams and leaders. Sincere thanks to past and present Westpac colleagues for their support. I am incredibly fortunate to have worked with such a great team at Westpac.'

As Financial Institution of the Year, Westpac was recognised for its innovation agenda delivering outstanding customer experiences including:

• Rolling out a customer-first national operating rhythm, providing bankers with more time to have conversations with customers and introducing a new customer advocacy tool to generate real-time customer feedback to drive improvements in service experience.
• Proudly becoming the first bank to change its standard operating procedure to recognise paid parental leave and return to work income for home lending. This makes a big difference to parents' potential borrowing capacity and helps families at a time when they need flexibility and support the most.
• Building the Panorama operating system, now with a complete solution for all Australians, whether they want to invest with an adviser, work with an accountant or invest on their own.
• Making significant progress in combining digital innovation and human elements to redesign customer experience and drive strong operational performance. Westpac has made over 180 new features and enhancements across digital channels, including allowing customers to activate a credit card using their phone camera and managing term deposit roll-overs online.