News: WBC Westpac Says Board Is Deeply Distressed About Issues Raised By AUSTRAC

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Westpac Banking Corp (WBC) :

• BOARD IS DEEPLY DISTRESSED ABOUT ISSUES RAISED BY AUSTRAC IN ITS STATEMENT OF CLAIM OF 20 NOVEMBER 2019.
• "AS A BOARD AND AS INDIVIDUALS, WE ARE DEVASTATED THAT ANYONE MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO RISK OF HARM AS A RESULT OF A FAILING BY WESTPAC"
• "EVERY ONE OF US IN THIS COMPANY HAS BEEN SHAKEN BY EVENTS OF PAST FEW WEEKS"
• "WE'VE STRENGTHENED OUR POLICIES, DATA SYSTEMS, PROCESSES & CONTROLS, & HAVE SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED NUMBER OF FINANCIAL CRIME SPECIALISTS"
• ALLEGATIONS ON "WESTPAC'S FAILURE TO REPORT INTERNATIONAL FUNDS TRANSFER INSTRUCTIONS - A COMPLIANCE BREACH THAT IS DEEPLY CONCERNING"
• "WE ACKNOWLEDGE WE SHOULD HAVE IMPLEMENTED MORE ROBUST TRANSACTION MONITORING EARLIER THAN WE DID"
• "WE HAVE CHANGED OUR PROCESSES AND IMPLEMENTED ADDITIONAL TRANSACTION MONITORING AND WILL CONTINUE TO REVIEW OUR PROCESSES"
• "WE ARE ALSO CONSCIOUS WE NEED TO STRENGTHEN OUR 'SPEAK UP' CULTURE"
• ACTUAL PAYMENT OF 2019 VARIABLE REWARDS WILL BE WITHHELD FOR FULL EXECUTIVE TEAM SUBJECT TO ACCOUNTABILITY FOR AUSTRAC'S CLAIMS
• BOARD REDUCED ITS FEES FOR 2019 BY 20%