Updated with response by Westpac (9.25AM) 25 August 2025

The Commerce Commission has filed proceedings against Westpac New Zealand Ltd for allegedly breaching lender responsibility principles under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 (CCCFA).

The Commission said multiple failures meant customers did not receive legally required information about their loans and, in some cases, agreed interest rate discounts were not applied.

Commerce Commission General Manager for Competition, Fair Trading and Credit, Vanessa Horne, said the Commission expects banks to have robust systems in place to ensure compliance.

“Banks’ failure to do so can have a detrimental impact on their customers and deprive people of crucial information they are entitled to,” Horne said.

The Commission believes Westpac failed to invest adequately in systems and processes to meet its obligations. These failures led to disclosure issues affecting both borrowers and guarantors, as well as some customers missing out on agreed home loan discounts.

Westpac has admitted the breaches and is finalising remediation for affected borrowers.

The Commission is seeking declarations that Westpac breached responsible lending principles and is also seeking financial penalties. Westpac and the Commission have entered into a settlement agreement to conclude the matter on those terms.

The responsible lending principles impose obligations on lenders when advertising, before entering into a loan, and during all subsequent dealings with borrowers and guarantors.

A Westpac spokeswoman said “The matter relates to historical issues with some Westpac products which we identified and self-reported to the Commerce Commission in early 2022. The issues relate to compliance with the responsible lending provisions of the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) for some customers.”

“We worked promptly to close the identified compliance gaps, and we are in the final stages of completing remediation for customers as applicable.

 “Westpac has co-operated fully with the Commerce Commission investigation and has admitted the breaches in the proceeding.

“Westpac and the Commerce Commission are aligned in their views on the appropriate penalty, and it is not expected to have an impact on our 2H25 results. The penalty will be determined by the High Court in due course.”