The Reserve Bank claimed that a product disappeared from Westpac’s site for over a hundred days
Westpac is facing a charge of violating the Deposit Takers Act 2023’s Depositor Compensation Scheme (DCS) disclosure requirements following the Reserve Bank’s (RBNZ) claim that Westpac’s Custodian PIE product vanished from its website for over a hundred days, reported the NZ Herald.
RBNZ said the product could not be found on Westpac’s DCS webpage between 5 December 2025 and 24 March 2026.
“Depositors need to know whether their money is protected by the DCS. Deposit takers must provide complete, accurate and up-to-date information that is easy to find. We take non-compliance with these core requirements seriously and will take enforcement action where appropriate”, said Kerry Beaumont, RBNZ director of enforcement and resolution, in a statement published by the Herald.
The product has reappeared on Westpac’s site, and according to a Westpac spokesperson, the bank had self-reported to the RBNZ a website error where it failed to include a savings product under the DCS umbrella.
“This product was only directly available to two investment managers, and there was no financial loss to customers. We have fixed the underlying issue to prevent the same error occurring again. We have co-operated and will continue to co-operate with the RBNZ”, the spokesperson said in a statement published by the Herald.
The DCS protection afforded to customers was unaffected by the supposed violation, as was the DCS’ operation or availability.
The matter has been passed to the District Court for judgment and sentencing. According to Beaumont, the infringement process has enabled the RBNZ to address lower-level non-compliance in accordance with its level of seriousness.
“We consider each case individually, including what the deposit taker has done to fix the problem and how it has co-operated with us”, Beaumont said in a statement published by the Herald.
Last year, Westpac was ordered to pay out $3.25m in penalties for breaching the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013’s fair dealing provisions. These violations had affected 24,621 customers and led to $6.35m in overcharges; according to Margot Gatland, the head of enforcement at the Financial Markets Authority, the breaches were the result of system deficiencies that meant the bank could not provide contractually agreed discounts to customers.
