Westpac NZ takes aim at Google and Meta’s efforts to fight financial crime

CEO warms on Kiwi economy outlook for 2026 (Image: NZME)

Mon, 03 Nov 2025

Westpac NZ has upped its full-year bottom line 13% thanks to a reversal in impairments as well as gains in total deposits and net loans, accompanied by a cautiously warm economic outlook.It also took aim at social media giants Google and Meta’s efforts to fight financial crime as New Zealand face the dawn of open banking in four weeks' time.The deposit taker’s net profit after tax for the year to end-September was up 13% to $1.2 billion, from $1.06b previously. Net interest margin was 2.32%, up 15 basis points (bps) from 2.17%.W...

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