Westpac Banking Corporation: Analysis Of Operations In Australia And Overseas, Essay.

Consumer and Business Operations

Question:

Discuss about the Legal Aspect of Westpac Banking Corporation.

Westpac Banking Corporation is also popularly known as Westpac, is a bank of Australian origin. The headquarters of the bank is located in Westpac Place in Sydney. The bank was established in Sydney in the year 1982. This essay is based on the analysis of the operations of the bank in Australia as well as in the overseas (Westpac.com.au. ,2017).

Westpac banking corporation operates in the financial industry of Australia. The areas of operations of the bank are in the consumers as well as the business sector of the country. The consumer branches of the bank serve more than 9 million customers of the country. The bank has a network of 1429 branches, call-centers, 3850 ATMs and many third-party distributors. The business sectors of the banks are responsible for the operations related to the services and sales of small business and medium businesses as well. The agricultural and commercial based operations of the country are also linked to the business related operations of the bank. Westpac banking corporation has a financial management part which is named as BT Financial Group. The Funds Management related operations of the bank includes many other functions like manufacture as well as the distribution of the investment (Westpac.com.au. ,2017).

The Westpac Banking Corporation has its global operations in many other countries including UK, China, Honk Kong, Singapore, India and New Zealand. The branches of Westpac in the Pacific are located in Papua New Guinea and Fiji. The major branches of the bank are located in New Zealand after those in Australia. The branches of both Australia and New Zealand offer facilities related to mortgages and credit cards to the customers or the migrants along with the other facilities provided by the banks (Westpac.com.au. ,2017).

The total number of employees who are working in the branches of Westpac Banking Corporation is approximately 32,620. The number of employees working in the Australian branches of the bank is around 20,000. The bank has more than 1429 branches all around the world that serves the customers from all the countries. 

The company applies an approach which is Three Lines of Defence used for the management of risk that can affect the operations of the banks. The management of risk in an effective manner enables the banks to measure the risk profile and to balance the risks that are posed towards the banks. The growth opportunities related to the bank can be optimised and the risks and the potential damages can also be mitigated. The depositors of the banks, the policy holders and the investors can be protected with the help of risk management policies (McNeil, Frey &Embrechts, 2015). The adequate controls that are required to guard the risks related to the various operations of the banks are also controlled with the help of risk management. The obligations of the banks related to regulations can be met with the help these techniques. The Board of the banks holds the responsibility related to the reviewing and recommendation of the various strategies that are related to the banking operations (Li & Zou, 2014).

Financial Management and Funds Management

There are many different types of material risks that are related to the management and the operations of Westpac Banking Corporation. The different types of risk are as discussed further. The credit risk which is related to the financial loss of the banks when the customers fail to fulfil their financial obligations that were made to the banks (DeAngelo&Stulz, 2015). Another type of risk is the liquidity risk which is related to the risk where the groups are not able to provide funds required for the assets and fulfill their obligations as well. The market risk related to the banks has an adverse impact on the earnings of the bank that are related to the changes that occur in the market. The changes occurring in the market are related to exchange rates, the interest rates, the equity prices and the prices of the commodities as well. The other type of risk is the conduct risk which is related to the situation where the products or the services of the bank results in unfair or unsuitable outcomes that can affect the stakeholders of the banks in a negative manner (Daghouri, Mansouri&Qbadou, 2017). The operational risk is that type of risk which is a result of the loss from the failure of inadequacy of the internal processes of the bank, the employees of the bank or any type of external events as well. The compliance risk is also a type of risk which is related to legal or any type of regulatory sanction of the reputational or financial losses that arise from the failure of the obligations of the bank. The business risk of the bank is related to the vulnerability of the business with respect to the changes in that have occurred in the environment. The other type of risk associated with banks is the sustainability risk which results to the financial and reputational loss of the banks due to the failure that they have faced (Lodhia, 2015). The equity risk occurs in the banks as a result of the potential of losses related to the finances of the banks that occur due to the changes in the equity values. The risk related to equity can be indirect, direct or contingent. The risk related to the insurance entities of the banks and the expected costs related to the insurance events is also managed with the help of risk management. The risk that is related to the loss of the reputation of the bank which results in the loss of confidence of the stakeholders is also managed by the risk management strategies of the banks. The Board of the Westpac Bank has the responsibility to approve the Westpac Group Risk Management Strategy and the Westpac Group Risk Appetite Statement who can formulate the risk management strategies (Buch&Goldberg, 2015). The effectiveness of the ways by which risk is managed by these groups is monitored by the Westpac Board. The control mechanisms that are used in the internal operations of the bank and the ways by which the mechanisms are implemented are also monitored by the Board (Langfield& Pagano, 2016).

Risk Management Policies

There are different treaties, conventions or agreements that have huge impact on the different products as well as services that has been provided by Westpac Banking Corporation that is providing in Australia. Treaties are defined as the number of names such as international conventions, covenants, agreements as well as different constitutions for Westpac Banking Corporation. A treaty is formal element in agreement between different nations. Westpac Banking Corporation has to properly analyze the different issues faced by them regarding the different kind of services and the products that are delivered by them. The treaties can be bilateral or multilateral in nature that has huge effect on the different aspects as well.

In order to properly tackle the different global conspiracy, Westpac Banking Corporation has to properly enter into different treaties that can be between Australia as well as New Zealand along with different other states (Hoffman et al., 2015). The Westpac Bank in Australia as well as in other locations has no power to impose proper obligations related to treaty in other states. The treaty that has huge effect on the different products as well as services such as savings or fixed deposit facilities that is essential for adoption or entry into force. There are two kinds of treaties that are contractual treaties as well as law making treaties. The multinational treaties has to be properly followed by different countries such as United Nations as this is a proper instrument that can be utilized in order to solve such issues relating to the conventional treaties followed by them.

The Vienna conventional on the law of the treaties help in analyzing the different kinds of international agreements that are required in bank and this will help in understanding the relations with one another in the different nations. It is also claimed that the conventions that has to be properly followed by the different companies as this will help in binding upon proper ratification (Werle & Jessberger, 2014).

According to Werle & Jessberger, (2014), law making treaties are the ones that will set new rule in the international law. The treaties involve law of treaty relating to sea as well as chemical weapons convention too. On the other hand, conventional treaties involve treaties that are made regarding import or export of goods or services in Westpac Banking Corporation. Proper contractual treaties have huge impact on the goods as well as services provided by Westpac Banking Corporation. However, if Westpac do not follow different treaties there is no such binding that the respective company has to properly follow the guidelines relating to the treaties. Westpac Banking Corporation is following general treaties as this has huge impact on the goods as well as services provided by them to the different individuals in the countries (Langford, 2013).

Global Operations in Other Countries

Proper ascertainments has to be made by the respective bank as this will help in understanding the issues relating to the breaking of the treaties and this will emphasize more on the different requirements of the conventions in banks  (Von Glahn & Taulbee, 2015). There are different banks that have huge role in providing different essential services to the individuals in the organization (Merrills, 2017). This will help in analyzing the importance of the unilateral treaty that is a formal kind of declaration by the respective countries as well as state wherein the consenting is not bound in order to be followed by the different recipients. The treaties has huge impact on the different political issues that is affecting the entire state and this is essential as treaties are getting more effective in the modern days and this will help in generating and gaining more implementation of the international law as well (Koskenniemi, 2014).

There are different effects of the conventions or treaties in the Westpac Banking Corporation that is headquartered in Sydney, Australia (Sornarajah, 2017). Proper convention is essential in nature as this will help in understanding the different issues that is related to the export or import of goods and services. It is mandatory in nature to properly follow different rules as well as regulations in the different countries wherein there is proper presence of the Westpac Banking Corporation (Conrad & Ritter, 2013). In such situation, the countries wherein the treaties are followed by the different institutions, it is mandatory for the country to follow as well as adhere to the different treaties conditions as well. The main role of the treaty is to properly emphasize on the role of the different conventions that is related to the export as well as import of goods as well as services. 

Conclusion

Therefore, it can be concluded that proper treaties has to be followed by Westpac Banking Corporation as this will help in analyzing the different rules and regulations that is followed by them. The different treaties such as conventional as well as law making treaties is essential in nature to be followed as this will help in maintaining proper as well as peaceful environment. There can be different situations wherein the treaties may not be followed by the bank wherein negotiations has to be made easier in nature and this will help in following the treaties as this has huge positive impact on the banks in different countries as well. It has been seen that the treaties have huge impact on the political factors in the respective countries and this will have huge as well as powerful state that will break the international law.

Types of Material Risks

The proper principle of the cultural diversity is adopted by the respective bank in Australia as well as in New Zealand as this will help them in proper protection of the goods as well as services provided by them in other countries as well as to the individuals. The main purpose of the convention or the agreements in Westpac Banking Corporation is to adopt cultural diversity and this will help in gaining more competitive advantage in the entire country as well. Proper cultural measures as well as policies has to be ascertained by the Westpac Banking Corporation in Australia as the main headquarter is situated there and this will have huge impact on the export and import of goods as well as services. 

References

Buch, C. M., & Goldberg, L. S. (2015). International banking and liquidity risk transmission: Lessons from across countries. IMF Economic Review, 63(3), 377-410.

Conrad, C. R., & Ritter, E. H. (2013). Treaties, tenure, and torture: The conflicting domestic effects of international law. The Journal of Politics, 75(2), 397-409.

Daghouri, A., Mansouri, K., &Qbadou, M. (2017, April). Towards a decision support system, based on the systemic and multi-agent approaches for organizational performance evaluation of a risk management unit: Banks case. In 2017 Intelligent Systems and Computer Vision (ISCV) (pp. 1-8). IEEE.

DeAngelo, H., &Stulz, R. M. (2015). Liquid-claim production, risk management, and bank capital structure: Why high leverage is optimal for banks. Journal of Financial Economics, 116(2), 219-236.

Hoffman, S. J., Outterson, K., Røttingen, J. A., Cars, O., Clift, C., Rizvi, Z., ... & Zorzet, A. (2015). An international legal framework to address antimicrobial resistance. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 93(2), 66-66.

Koskenniemi, M. (2014). Fragmentation of international law: difficulties arising from the diversification and expansion of international law: Report of the study group of the international law commission.

Langfield, S., & Pagano, M. (2016). Bank bias in Europe: effects on systemic risk and growth. Economic Policy, 31(85), 51-106.

Langford, M. (Ed.). (2013). Global justice, state duties: the extraterritorial scope of economic, social, and cultural rights in international law. Cambridge University Press.

Li, F., & Zou, Y. (2014). The Impact of Credit Risk Management on Profitability of Commercial Banks. Umea School of Business and Economic.

Lodhia, S. (2015). Exploring the transition to integrated reporting through a practice lens: An Australian customer owned bank perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 129(3), 585-598.

McNeil, A. J., Frey, R., &Embrechts, P. (2015). Quantitative risk management: Concepts, techniques and tools. Princeton university press.

Merrills, J. G. (2017). International dispute settlement. Cambridge university press.

Sornarajah, M. (2017). The international law on foreign investment. Cambridge university press.

Von Glahn, G., & Taulbee, J. L. (2015). Law among nations: an introduction to public international law. Routledge.

Werle, G., & Jessberger, F. (2014). Principles of international criminal law. OUP Oxford.

Westpac.com.au. (2017). Risk management | Westpac. Westpac.com.au. Retrieved 15 December 2017, from https://www.westpac.com.au/about-westpac/westpac-group/corporate-governance/risk-management/