Westpac chief Brian Hartzer is stepping down from the bank.Credit:AAP
The bank’s first attempt to stave off the inevitable was an apology,followed a few days later with an"unreserved apology". Inevitably,heads rolled on Tuesday morning.
"It was clear from these discussions with stakeholders that we take decisions above and beyond the response plan,"the company said.
AUSTRAC now carries the scalps of the CEOs of two of the big four banks. The Hayne royal commission holds the scalps of a third big bank,NAB’s CEO Andrew Thorburn and chairman Ken Henry.
The financial crimes regulator's legal case of 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing laws by Westpac is off the charts. Particularly its claim that the bank's failures resulted in the facilitation of transactions for paedophiles.
All up more than $11 billion was transferred into Australia with Westpac knowing nothing about the source of the funds.
It doesn’t get more serious and harrowing than that. How the bank thought it could get away with peddling the argument that it didn’t know beggars belief. The fact is Westpac should have known.