HBOS Australian subsidiary BankWest has completed a round of hiring for its private banking business as it pursues a growth strategy on the ...

HBOS Australian subsidiary BankWest has completed a round of hiring for its private banking business as it pursues a growth strategy on the country’s more populous eastern seaboard. The bank has appointed former Macquarie Bank executive James Blackshaw as its Queensland manager, poached Rory Muscat from AMP to become state manager for New South Wales, and announced that Jonathan Corbett, most recently of HSBC, is to become manager in Victoria. Although based in the Western Australian capital of Perth, BankWest has recently made significant inroads into the eastern states with products such as retail mortgages, term deposits and business banking for small and medium sized enterprises. Bob Beard, head of corporate and private banking, said that the private banking presence on the eastern states was a “natural progression” of the growth strategy. “A private bank offering will complement our existing offerings, as well as providing customers with a highly competitive alternative to the other major private banks,” Mr Beard said. In addition to BankWest’s private banking operation, HBOS has also rolled out its St. Andrews wealth management brand throughout Australia, with a similar focus on the eastern states. In April this year, St Andrews Australia reported a before tax profit of A$10.8 million, up 89 per cent on the previous year. St Andrews has said it wants to double its Australian profits to A$20 million in 2006, largely through cross-selling products to BankWest’s customer base.