Kiwi boss for NZ Westpac

Westpac has named Kiwi Catherine McGrath as its next New Zealand chief executive.

The Australian-owned bank said McGrath would take over the role from acting chief executive Simon Power. Power was appointed acting chief executive following the retirement of David McLean, who had headed the bank since June 2014.

McGrath’s last position was with Barclays Bank in the United Kingdom, where she had worked since 2013, before returning home to New Zealand recently.

Westpac Group chief executive Peter King said: ‘‘Catherine is an experienced and well-respected financial services leader.’’ He said McGrath’s banking career started at the BNZ. ‘‘Since then, she has driven large-scale transformations at some of the world’s best-known banks, including Barclays Group and Lloyds TSB in the UK.’’

Barclays was heavily criticised after the global financial crisis, as well as for its part in the illegal manipulation of interest rates, both of which occurred before McGrath’s time. In 2013 an independent report commissioned by Barclays’ board concluded the bank had put profit before customers.

Westpac NZ is among the banks criticised by the Financial Markets Authority and the Reserve Bank.

Banks here had underinvested in systems, the regulators concluded.

Part of McGrath’s brief will be to improve the bank’s digital banking systems.