Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
Back to profile5 entries
2025
Lending-responsibility breaches
The supplied reference reports that the High Court imposed a NZ$3.64 million penalty for breaches of New Zealand lender-responsibility rules.
2021
Anti-money-laundering compliance warning
The Reserve Bank formally warned Westpac after identifying failures in systems intended to detect and report almost 8,000 corporate transactions to overseas recipients.
2014
Criticism over coal-mining finance
Environmental group 350.org criticized Westpac's role in financing Bathurst Resources and coal mining on the Denniston Plateau, citing the project's potential greenhouse-gas emissions.
2009
Runaway millionaire overdraft incident
A mistaken overdraft-limit increase gave customers access to NZ$10 million rather than the approved NZ$100,000. Withdrawals and the customers' subsequent flight overseas led to criminal proceedings and scrutiny of bank controls.
2006
Hidden foreign-transaction fees
The Commerce Commission penalized Westpac over foreign-transaction fees that customers had not been adequately told about. Most of the penalty was intended to reimburse affected customers.