St George merger on track

St George bank has increased customer numbers since the completion of its merger with Westpac last November, a result that suggests the group's multi-brand strategy has been accepted by customers.

Total St George retail, small business and BankSA customer numbers rose from 2.56 million in September to 2.58 million in March. St George wealth and insurance customer numbers rose from 231,000 in September to 233,000 in March.

Westpac CEO Gail Kelly said the merger integration was going to plan. The group has retained the Westpac and St George ATM and branch networks, with no net reduction in either.

Areas such as management reporting and group treasury have been consolidated, and areas such as risk and accounting have been aligned.

The group spent $152 million on integration in the March half out of a total budget of $700 million in merger expenses.