Comment: The same old Westpac legacy

Ian Rogers
If the Gail Kelly era has made much of an impact on Westpac since 2009, it may take until beyond her exit next year to reveal itself.

Few aspects of Westpac's market position have improved over her tenure.

The number two bank to CBA in a four-bank market, Westpac lacks a vital story to tell in the modern history of banking.

Typical of the malaise is Westpac's mortgage market share, which jumped from 17.9 per cent to 26.6 per cent after it took over St George Bank late in 2008. From that point it declined steadily over five years to a low of 25.09 per cent in May this year.

Supposedly, Kelly's strategy was to limit growth as a way of conserving capital and protecting margin post-GFC. But all of Westpac's peers achieved those goals while growing share over that period.

Westpac Institutional Bank has largely run the bank these recent years, a side of the bank resistant to aspects of the boss' agenda.

Much of the internal view of Kelly is projected through a lens that focuses on her roadshows on career pathways for women and a perceived disengagement with core priorities.

More of the multi-brand thinking put in place by its 1990s CEO Bob Joss led Kelly to give life to two sub-standard retail brands in Rams and Bank of Melbourne.

No price point or marketing method for any Westpac brand ever drew the interest of a jaded mass market.

The cost story is pretty orthodox and not that deftly managed, with write-offs of major IT projects after the St George takeover a particular blight.

The Adelaide mortgage centre remains a burden, riven by indecision over, and scant expertise in, offshoring.

Few benefits of rethinking the Westpac production line, the SIPS programs, have made their way into customer pricing.

Profit measures also paint a mundane picture, with return on equity in the 23 per cent range in David Morgan's final years, and averaging less than 16 per cent in Kelly's last two.

Westpac is, however, the second most profitable bank, measured by ROE and ROA, after Commonwealth Bank.

In February 2008, when Kelly took on the top role, Westpac shares were trading at A$25.90.  Under her leadership shares peaked at $33.33 in  2014, an increase of 25.7 per cent.

There are surprises in the Westpac journey. The bank is, as of August 2014, ranked the number one bank in business banking satisfaction, according to monitors DBM.

There are also disappointments. BT looked like a breakout proposition at one stage but has, as if by a law of nature, slid into peer obscurity.

May Kelly share this fate.