J.P. Morgan Australia FTM 12 Jun 26 Westpac Banking Corporation; Northern Star Resources Ltd.; Lendlease Group; Boss Energy and More

Research evidence excerpt

J.P. Morgan Australia FTM 12 Jun 26 Westpac Banking Corporation; Northern Star Resources Ltd.; Lendlease Group; Boss Energy and More

en back towards longer-run levels. The near-term issue is

whether lower applications translate into weaker settlements, given possible shifts in conversion rates, competition and

policy changes affecting credit growth. Management emphasised margin discipline over chasing volume, so growth may

track at 0.8x to 1.0x of system rather than outpace it in the near-term. WBC’s forecasts for system investor housing lending

growth of 4.4% for FY27/28 looks optimistic to us, noting that in previous cycles the drop-off has been much more severe

and investors tend to be quite pro-cyclical.

• Costs and productivity: Management argued that the cost base was structurally too high and that migration to digital would

lower cost-to-serve, but they framed the goal as operating leverage rather than absolute cost reduction. They referenced

being on track for roughly $119m of productivity this year under Unite. In Q&A, the consumer bank CFO said $150m of cost

needs to be removed from the division each year to stand still as inflation continues. The bank also expects further branch

and distribution network changes, including new service centres and a $300m cost-out target over 3–5 years. UNITE is seen

as the longer-dated enabler, with benefits back-ended and near-term execution risk remains.

• Digital engagement is a priority: Higher rates of digital engagement have underpinned the shift in service model. It

highlighted ~5.3m digitally active customers and that digital-originated sales now make up a large majority of total sales, with

better NPS outcomes in mobile and online channels. The strategic “next layer” is the Westpac Intelligence Layer, intended to