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SYDNEY, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Westpac Banking Corp on
Thursday named banking veteran John McFarlane as chairman,
entrusting the former Barclays boss to help steer it
through the fallout of a massive money-laundering scandal.
The appointment comes less than two months after Australia's
No. 2 bank was embroiled in the scandal and at a time of wider
gloom for the sector following damaging revelations from a
government-backed inquiry into misconduct in the industry.
Investors and analysts cheered the news, given McFarlane's
extensive credentials, and the urgent need for stability at the
scandal-hit bank, which is still looking for a new chief
executive.
"The market should react positively to it, he has
significant Australian banking experience, significant British
banking experience, and the Australian market knows him well,"
said senior Credit Suisse banking analyst Jarrod Martin.
McFarlane, who for a decade was CEO of Westpac's rival
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and was
chairman of British bank Barclays until May last year,
will assume charge on April 2 and oversee the search for a new
CEO.
"My focus initially will naturally be on resolving the
company's current issues but equally important, to position it
as quickly as possible for long-term success," McFarlane said in
a statement.
He warned however, that the appointment of a "world-class"
CEO could "take time".
Westpac's money laundering scandal came to light in November
when regulator AUSTRAC launched legal action against Westpac,
accusing it of enabling 23 million payments in breach of
anti-money laundering laws, including the facilitation of
offshore payments relating to child exploitation.
It led to the resignation of Chief Executive Brian Hartzer
and forced current Chairman Lindsay Maxsted to bring forward his
retirement.
At last month's annual meeting, the lender's shareholders
voted down executive pay for a second year due to investor
outrage over the scandal.
Last week, mining giant BHP Group said Maxsted will
not stand for re-election as a director on its board.
(Reporting by Paulina Duran and Nikhil Kurian Nainan; Editing
by Arun Koyyur and Tom Brown)
