Westpac's Lloyds acquisition paying off ahead of schedule
Lloyds A portfolio of business acquired from Lloyds Banking Group Australia last October has contributed A$20 million of cash earnings to Westpac's bottom line in the March half-year.Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly the return was ahead of budget.Last October Westpac paid $1.45 billion for $7.6 billion of Lloyds' loans. The assets included $2.9 billion of equipment leases - $1.9 billion in the small and medium business market and $1 billion in the corporate market.There were also $3.9 billion of motor vehicle finance assets, including $3.2 billion of personal car finance and $700 million of dealer finance.And there was $1.6 billion of corporate loans (plus $1.1 billion of undrawn corporate facilities).At the time of the acquisition, Westpac said it was acquiring "performing businesses" with appropriate levels of provisions.Westpac said it had retained Lloyds' dealer and broker base. It estimated that the acquisition had contributed directly to growth of about 4000 in retail and small business customer numbers.It said that new business volumes for auto and equipment finance were up strongly as a result of the acquisition.Westpac has budgeted for total integration costs of $130 million but expects to save $70 million a year from efficiency programs developed around the acquisition.