(21 February 2022 – Australia) Bankwest has announced all of the group’s business banking customers will be transitioned to CommBank’s products and services over an extended period of time following the 2017 closure of business banking operations outside of Western Australia.
The CommBank subsidiary is moving to exclusively to retail banking operations as all commercial banking clients were reassured there will be no immediate changes until further notice, inclusive of business brokers also.
Bankwest was acquired by CBA at the outset of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. In 2017 the ASBFEO and ASIC investigated the handling of customers after CommBank’s takeover. Established in 1895, the organisation originally commenced as the Agricultural Bank of Western Australia.
“Bankwest is predominantly a national retail business and is strongly positioned to compete and deliver great customer outcomes due to its significant scale and the investment planned to enhance its technology capability. Ultimately, the Bankwest of the future will be a WA-based national retail banking business focused 100 per cent on meeting the everyday banking and home buying needs of people in households across Australia” commented CBA COO Sinead Taylor.
“The banking sector has evolved rapidly, creating an environment where investment at scale is critical to meet our customers’ needs and expectations of banking products and services” Taylor added.