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- Westpac (WBC) will bid farewell to two of its senior executives after they were poached by U.K. banks
- Consumer division Chief Executive, David Lindberg, will leave to join the Royal Bank of Scotland
- Meanwhile, Chief Information Officer, Craig Bright, will leave for British investment bank Barclays
- Westpac has also promoted its long term employee, Les Vance, to fulfil a new role, overseeing financial crime, compliance, and conduct
- Westpac stated the new position was created to allow its Chief Risk Officer, David Stephen, to focus on unfreezing 105,000 home loans
- WBC shares are 1.12 per cent lower at market open, trading for $15.06 per share
Westpac (WBC) has seen two of its senior executives poached by separate opportunities in the U.K.’s financial sector.
Consumer division Chief Executive, David Lindberg, will leave the big four banking giant to join the Royal Bank of Scotland. Lindberg held his position in Westpac’s largest sector for 14 months.
He was once considered a successor to previous Chief Executive, Brian Hartzer.
Lindberg’s departure is met with Chief Information Officer, Craig Bright, leaving to join British investment bank, Barclays. Bright held his position at Westpac for 18 months.
Westpac commented on Tuesday that a search for replacements is already underway, concerning candidates abroad.
While the bank sees two of its executives leave for new opportunities, it has also welcomed a placement for a newly forged role that covers financial crime, compliance, and conduct. This role will be filled by Les Vance.
This position was created on the backend of the bank earning penalties from breaching money laundering and anti-terrorism laws.
These breaches saw Chief Executive Brian Hartzer leave the bank, replaced by Peter King — earning a permanent position earlier this year.
“Westpac has made significant progress in improving its financial crime capability and I am confident Les will continue to build on this platform of work,” Peter King said on Tuesday.
“His deep understanding of the bank and risk management will help us further strengthen our management of non-financial risk,” he continued.
Les Vance first joined Westpac in 2008, previously holding a position as Chief Executive of Gaming at TAB.
“Les will bring his considerable experience, knowledge and integrity to his new role,” Peter added.
Westpac stated the new position was created to allow its Chief Risk Officer, David Stephen, to focus on unfreezing 105,000 home loans.
WBC shares are 1.12 per cent lower at market open, trading for $15.06 per share at 10:50 am AEST.
