(4 February 2025 – Australia) Westpac is enhancing its small business banking offering by providing customers with a year of complimentary legal services, as part of a broader strategy to grow its SME lending business.
The initiative follows a $10 million investment in legal services provider Lawpath, giving business customers access to legal documents and business registration support.
The bank’s business division will soon be led by Paul Fowler, who joins mid-year from Commonwealth Bank (CBA), taking over from acting head Peter Herbert. Fowler’s appointment comes as Westpac gains momentum in SME lending, with the bank now holding 15.8% of the small business market, behind NAB (21.2%) and CBA (18.7%), but ahead of ANZ (14.6%).
Westpac is the fastest-growing business bank among the majors, with 3.9% growth over the last quarter, outpacing CBA (3.8%), ANZ (2.3%), and NAB (1.5%), according to data from APRA the prudential regulator.
Beyond traditional banking, Westpac continues to expand non-banking perks, offering SME customers discounts through partnerships with Optus, AWS, MYOB, Samsung, AGL, Uber, and more. These partnerships could help businesses save over $14,000 annually.
“It’s a competitive space, and one we have been methodically building out, including with services beyond our core banking offering,” said Peter Herbert, highlighting the bank’s focus on value-added services to drive sustainable growth.