Westpac wins lion’s share of Kiwi government tender
(12 October 2015 – New Zealand) Following an extensive tender process, Westpac has retained the bulk of the government banking contract.
Last week, Finance Minister Bill English and Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce said six banks had been given slices of the lucrative all-of-government banking services contract.
However, the key element of the contract, Crown transactional banking services, was won by incumbent Westpac.
The volume of the contract is large enough that sources claimed it enabled Westpac to effectively determine the timing of payment settlements between New Zealand banks.
The contract had three smaller elements - foreign exchange, payment services and card services, split between Westpac and the other three major Australian owned banks, ANZ, ASB and BNZ as well as Citibank's New Zealand business and state-owned Kiwibank.
"It has been more than 25 years since government banking services have been put out to tender. Over this time there has been considerable evolution in the banking and financial services sector," English said in the statement.
"The new contracts will deliver cost savings for government agencies and all New Zealanders. They will ensure that banking services are fit for purpose and provide value for money."
Westpac said the contract win meant it remained as "the government's main bank", extending its relationship with the Crown to more than 30 years, noting that it was the only bank which had won elements of all four parts of the contract.
Westpac New Zealand chief executive David McLean said "Our win reinforces our leadership position in corporate and institutional banking in New Zealand and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Government across all its banking needs."
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