The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is rising on Thursday.
In morning trade, the banking giant's shares are up 1% to $24.12.
Why is the Westpac share price rising?
The catalyst for the rise in the Westpac share price has been the release of an update on the bank's superannuation business.
According to the release, Westpac and BT Funds Management have entered into an agreement to merge BT's personal and corporate superannuation funds with Mercer Super Trust through a successor fund transfer (SFT).
The merger of BT's personal and corporate superannuation funds includes the Westpac employee default plan, Westpac Group Super Plan. BT employees who support these funds will be offered employment by Mercer as part of the agreement.
Not included in the agreement is superannuation held on Westpac's BT Panorama and Asgard platforms.
Anything else?
Westpac also revealed that it has entered into an agreement to sell its Advance Asset Management business (Advance) to Mercer Australia.
Advance is a multi-manager investment business which provides specialist funds management services and products, including for certain investment options available through BT Super's personal and corporate superannuation funds.
It had $43.7 billion funds under management at end of March and manages a number of products available through BT Panorama.
What will the financial impact be?
The SFT will result in a small loss as a result of transaction and separation costs, whereas the sale of Advance will result in a gain.
The net effect of both over the remainder of FY 2022 and FY 2023 is expected to be an after-tax gain of $225 million.
Westpac's Specialist Businesses Chief Executive, Jason Yetton, commented that these agreements were part of the bank's simplification strategy. He said:
This is a further step in the simplification of Westpac and supports the Group's focus on banking in Australia and New Zealand. It also provides significant benefits for BT Super members, new opportunities for our people and redefines the landscape of superannuation in Australia.
Since the formation of Westpac's Specialist Businesses Division around two years ago we have made significant headway on our portfolio simplification agenda, having announced eight business sales, of which five have now completed.
