Westpac history

Supplemented by government assistance from the King’s stores, the Fund continued to support those affected until 1820, when a good harvest allowed recovery work to be completed.

1828: The bank is reorganized as a joint-stock company.

In 1847, it employed the London Joint Stock Bank as its overseas agent in London.

Incorporated: 1850 as the Bank of New South Wales

The Bank’s major expansion began in response to the gold fever in 1851 when it saw an opportunity to set up gold-buying agents in response to the needs of miners and merchants.

In 1853, the bank established an office to handle the colony's growing export trade.

It had grown from a single office in Sydney to a network of 37 branches by 1861.

In 1863, Robert White, an accountant at the Deniliquin branch of the Bank of New South Wales was held up.

With a continuing focus on growth by acquisition: the Bank of New South Wales merged with the Commercial Bank of Australia, which had been established in Melbourne in 1866.

By 1876, the bank was operating 34 offices and agencies throughout the Victoria territory.

He was awarded £1000 as acknowledgement of his service as GM in 1879 and decided to use this to establish a fund – the Buckland Fund - to help employees and their families experiencing financial hardship.

In 1883 the then new technology of the telephone was introduced.

CBA expanded steadily across the rest of the continent and had offices in Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane by 1890.

In 1893, Australian banks faced a major crisis.

The Bank’s first female employees began work in October 1898, at Head Office in Sydney.

Known as ‘Lady Typewriters’, they were joined by Edith Mary Preshaw, in Brisbane in 1906.

In 1918, John Russell French, general manager of the Bank of New South Wales, was knighted for his service in helping Australia finance the war effort.

The first merger was with the Western Australian Bank in 1927.

The crash of the New York stock market on Black Thursday, 24 October 1929 signalled the start of the depression in the international market.

On August 16, 1947 Prime Minister Ben Chifley announced that the banks would be nationalized.

1957: The Bank of New South Wales purchases 40 percent of the Australian Guarantee Corporation Ltd. (AGC).

1974: Australian banks enter the credit card field.

He rose through the ranks, becoming general manager in 1978.

In 1979, growing pressure to deregulate the financial markets led to the appointment of a government committee to investigate the effects deregulation would have on the economy.

1982: Westpac is formed from the merger of the Bank of New South Wales and CBA.

In 1984, Westpac began work on its CS90 computerized banking system.

In 1986, it took a greater stake in the gold-bullion markets when it purchased part of the London dealer Johnson Matthey Bankers Ltd.

In 1987, the bank acquired United States bond dealer William E. Pollock Government Securities.

On January 1, 1988, Stuart A. Fowler replaced Robert White as Westpac's managing director and CEO. Fowler continued the aggressive campaign begun by White.

However, as a result of the economic downturn at the end of the decade, Westpac declared a loss of $1.6 billion for the financial year ended 30 September 1992.

By 1995, however, the industry recovered, and while Westpac was financially back on track, it had lost its leading position in the Australian banking industry.

1996: The firm merges with Trust Bank New Zealand Limited.

Then in 1997, Westpac acquired the Bank of Melbourne.

During 1998, the company began to offer online banking to its customers.

1999: Merger talks with National Australia Bank Ltd. are called off.

Westpac began the new century as a principal sponsor of the very successful Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

In 2002, the bank began a strategic reshaping commencing with the sale of its longstanding iconic finance company, Australian Guarantee Corporation Limited (AGC) to GE Australia.

51% of Hastings Funds Management Limited, moving to 100% ownership in 2005.

AUSTRAC launches civil proceedings against Westpac for breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006.

The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) effectively began in July 2007.

The effective date of the merger was 1 December 2008.

On 1 March 2010, The Westpac Group commenced operating as a single authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI), and the legal entity StGeorge Bank Limited was deregistered.

Digital security is always a key area of focus and in 2015 the Westpac Group was one of the first banks in the world to offer fingerprint login on mobile devices.

A new Westpac Wardrobe, designed by Carla Zampatti, is launched in preparation for the Bank’s 200th anniversary in 2017.

Westpac commenced the divestment of BT Funds Management, (later to become Pendal Group). The exit was completed in 2018.