Anthony Miller has spent his first year as Westpac CEO laying the groundwork for an ambitious banking strategy. As he enters his second year in the top job, he’ll begin to see whether his bets in a competitive market were the right ones.
The largest of these is the UNITE tech transformation — a mammoth task to consolidate three banking platforms into one. It will remain a key focus for the next three years and will keep Westpac’s expense line elevated before the bank reaps the rewards of operating as one large institution instead of a trio of smaller ones.
It underscores the balancing act Miller faces, spending almost $1 billion a year on the transformation alone while still trying to grow.
“It’s about balancing the capacity of the company to execute the change cost-effectively, and also making sure we deliver return to shareholders. So it’s a balance that we’ll have to navigate over the next 36 months,” Miller said.
