Westpac will invest up to A$50 million in early stage funding of technology start-ups,
AFR.com reported on Friday. The bank will invest alongside venture capital manager Reinventure Group.
The newspaper reported that the venture expects to fund about a dozen companies run by experienced entrepreneurs with proven business models and that one area of focus will be companies offering technologies to improve the traditional banking customer experience.
The investment committee will include senior Westpac executives, the newspaper reported, including Jason Yetton, Westpac's head of retail and business banking, and its CEO of the Australian financial services division, Brian Hartzer.
Reinventure's principals are Danny Gilligan and Simon Cant.
The venture appears to be a newly formed business. The Reinventure website proclaims that it will be "launching soon [and be] the best of independent venture capital and corporate partnership."
Gilligan tweeted on Friday that the AFR Article was "announcing the Reinventure Group."
His Twitter biography states that he is "redesigning corporate venture capital."
Corresponding initiatives by other banks have not ended well.
ANZ liquidated its Business Equity Fund over the last two years, though it ultimately returned the original capital to investors.