The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price will be on watch this morning after announcing changes to its board.
What did Westpac announce?
After the market closed on Thursday, Australia's oldest bank confirmed that its chairman, Lindsay Maxsted, will retire from the Westpac board on March 31.
Following Mr Maxsted's retirement, John McFarlane will become the chairman of the Westpac board and the board nominations committee. This will be effective April 1, representing the start of Westpac's second half of FY 2020.
Mr Maxsted joined the Westpac board in March 2008 and has been the bank's chairman since December 2011. Late last year he decided to bring forward his retirement after the money-laundering scandal which involved allegations the bank failed to stop transactions with the Philippines involving child exploitation.
His replacement, John McFarlane, is a former Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) chief executive and commenced his role as a non-executive director of Westpac in February.
The chairman-elect said: "On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Lindsay for his considerable contribution to Westpac. Lindsay's wealth of experience and leadership as Chairman has been invaluable to Westpac during periods of significant change in the operating environment and I am proud to take over the role of Chairman from a leader of his calibre. We commend him for his professionalism and commitment to shareholders throughout his tenure and wish him well for the future."
In other news, Westpac has revealed that Ms Anita Fung has decided to retire from the board, also effective March 31.
Ms Fung only joined the board and Westpac's Asia advisory board in October 2018 and was a member of the Board Risk & Compliance Committee. She decided to retire from the board due to increasing commitments in Asia. She will, however, retain her role as a member of the Asia advisory board.
NAB changes.
It wasn't just Westpac announcing senior changes yesterday. Rival National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) announced that its Chief Customer Officer of Consumer Banking, Mike Baird, has decided to leave the bank, effective April 15.
The former NSW state leader intends to take a break before considering new opportunities.
