New CRO to take over at Westpac

Westpac Group has announced that David Stephen will succeed Westpac veteran, Alexandra Holcomb, as chief risk officer.

With Holcomb transitioning out of the role on 25 June 2018 and Stephen due to commence later in the year, Westpac has confirmed that chief financial officer, Peter King, will act as CRO in the interim, and deputy chief financial officer, David Lees will, in turn, act as chief financial officer.

Stephen will join Westpac from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) where he has been group chief risk officer since 2013. Prior to RBS, Stephen held senior roles at Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse First Boston. He also spent five years at ANZ as group chief risk officer, head of risk - institutional, and general manager wholesale risk.

Commenting on his appointment, Westpac CEO, Brian Hartzer said: "I am pleased to have someone of David's calibre join the Group Executive team. He is a highly regarded global risk and financial services professional with over 30 years' experience leading risk teams in Australia, Asia, Europe and America, across retail, commercial and investment banking. His experience in the UK will be particularly beneficial as we continue to face into a complex regulatory environment."

He added: "Westpac's goal is to be one of the world's great service companies, and a culture of doing the right thing is critical to that ambition. David's track record in leading highly professional risk teams and embedding a strong risk culture across the banks he has worked in makes him an ideal fit for the Westpac Group."