(12 November 2008 – Australia) Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Westpac have entered into an Agreement for the provision of share trading and equities administration services.CBA announced that it has entered into a four year agreement for the provision of online share trading and equities portfolio administration services with Westpac.
Through its subsidiary IWL Limited, CBA will provide wholesale broking services to Westpac. IWL provides wholesale execution and settlement facilities for licensees within the Australian Wealth Management and Financial Services industry.
CommSec managing director, Matt Comyn, said that the partnership with Westpac and BT emphasises CBA’s commitment to becoming the leading provider of wholesale financial services to the Australian investment market.
This arrangement enables Westpac Broking and BT Portfolio Services to leverage off CBA’s proven capability in share trading and equities portfolio administration, Comyn said.
Comyn described the agreement as a significant vote of confidence from the market in CBA’s ability to successfully operate a wholesale business.
In November 2007, CBA acquired ASX-listed IWL Limited. Following the acquisition of IWL, the business has been integrated into CommSec as a separate wholesale operating division, Australian Investment Exchange Limited (AUSIEX).
The agreement has been executed between Westpac subsidiaries Westpac Securities Limited and BT Portfolio Services Limited and CBA subsidiary AUSIEX.