What: On Friday, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), Australia's second largest bank with a market capitalisation of $100.5 billion held its Annual General Meeting (AGM).
While all AGMs are important events as they provide the opportunity for shareholders to ask questions of their board of directors, this year's AGM held extra significance for Westpac's shareholders as it was the last time CEO Gail Kelly would address them before retiring after seven years into the top job.
What happened: Here's a rundown of some of the highlights from the Chairman's and the CEO's AGM addresses…
- It was noted that digital technologies are transforming the business.
- Regulatory change are having a significant impact on the bank's operations as global and local authorities seek to further strengthen the financial system.
- During Gail Kelly's tenure Westpac increased its market share in housing from 13% to 23% and its share of business lending from 14% to 19%.
- Highlights from the last financial year were mentioned and included a return on equity of 16.4% and an increase in customer numbers to 12.8 million.
- The housing sector, particularly in Sydney, was singled out for its strong economic performance. The rest of the Australian economy was viewed as a little disappointing by the Chairman.
- The soft economy led the Chairman to state that he expects further easing of monetary policy and of the Australian dollar this year.
What's next: With the release of the Financial System Inquiry report, investors can now have a higher level of confidence in the future regulatory outlook for the banking sector. In FY 2014, Westpac paid dividends totalling 182 cents per share; with the share price having slipped over 6% in the past three months – the stock now trades on an attractive fully franked dividend yield of 5.3%.
