Institutional bank boss impressed with local market

Returning to New Zealand, and the institutional side of Westpac Bank, Karen Silk has been pleasantly surprised to find a more confident and conversational marketplace here.

Her feet are now well under her desk at Westpac Institutional Bank’s Britomart, Auckland headquarters where she replaced former general manager David McLean, now leading the bank’s Americas division in New York.

Much of the last six months have involved re-acquainting herself with the New Zealand market, having been offshore for six years – most recently as managing director, debt capital markets, at WIB in Sydney.

And she told NBR ONLINE she is pleased to have found the market here has caught up on debate about economic growth and infrastructure, and several other global themes that are well advanced offshore.

Productivity, for one, was not talked about much when she left New Zealand in 2007.

“But go through the GFC and a low-growth environment and now, at almost every meeting, customers are talking about how to improve productivity and business efficiency.

“I’m also pleasantly surprised about the public discussion and engagement in infrastructure, what’s needed in terms of core economic and social infrastructure to support economic growth in New Zealand, and the use of private capital to fund the development.

Not as evident
“It wasn’t as evident in New Zealand before I went away. But the level of discussion and variance in models of delivery that is happening offshore is now also happening here."

There is more discussion about Asia as a source of growth and as a source of capital, and WIB’s Asian customers are wanting to do more here, too, Ms Silk says.

Another benefit of being back on this side of the Tasman is that our business and consumer confidence is much stronger.

“It truly feels like Australia has gone into its shell over the past 12 months, and the concept of strong growth outside of perhaps core infrastructure is less over there.

“It’s much more pragmatic here. Everyone understands that, yes, we have a low-growth environment but companies are still looking for opportunities to drive growth and improve their efficiency, including through M&A or capital investment.

“People are still looking for those opportunities to invest where they can see a return here, where the confidence isn’t there to do that offshore.”

No stranger to Westpac
With about 300 staff, WIB provides banking services to the government and its large corporate and institutional customer base in New Zealand and global multinational clients that have a presence here.

Ms Silk joined Westpac New Zealand as part of its graduate programme in 1987 and has held various senior positions at the bank and Banque Indosuez here, leading businesses in both the institutional and middle market segments.

Although spending most of her working life at Westpac, she says it doesn’t feel like she's had one career but many.

Taking the top job at WIB makes her perhaps the most powerful female working in the financial services industry behind ASB chief executive Barbara Chapman.

“I’ve not been very focused on the fact I’m a woman in a male-dominated career, but I have been,” Ms Silk says.

She was also the first woman to lead an agribusiness team for any of the major banks when she was appointed to that role in 2003.

“It was an unusual appointment to that role at the time. I was a woman, for a start, and one who had worked in the corporate world for a long time. I had to learn how to address a different audience, but the concepts were the same.

"While farming incorporates elements of lifestyle it is also very much about increasingly complex businesses with a need to understand what is happening globally. The business doesn't end at the farmgate.

Differentiates us globally
“I found people in the rural business community are very direct, honest and open in their engagement with you and the role really embedded in me a strong belief in this country and that we have something that differentiates us globally.

"Going into a room and being the only woman has got rarer, but there are still instances where that will happen." 

Gender diversity is something banks need to think about, she says.

“We seem to be able to bring women in to the banking sector, and retain many until their mid-30s. At that point we start to lose them for a variety of reasons, family being one."

Westpac has a clear focus on building its options to retain and attract talented female employees, she says.

"Increasingly, this means offering greater flexibility in role composition, both task and time, and alternatives around accessibility. Not all work needs to be done in an office between the hours of 8.30am and 5pm.

Ms Silk manages to juggle motherhood and career – she has a 17-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter – but she says it’s not easy. As a family, the Silks accept there are periods of compromise, but it has been something both she and her husband have shared.

There is also plenty to challenge her in her new role at WIB, and that’s why she loves it.

Plenty of diversity
“It has plenty of diversity and the chance to be engaged in some really great conversations around the direction of business in New Zealand and the economy.”

Ms Silk wants to see WIB do more for the broader business community, not just the small slice at the top end of town.

All businesses, large and small, are looking for ways to improve their business, she says.

"Bank engagement extends beyond how we fund businesses and will also cover cash management/working capital, accessing the right currency and interest rate advice, and facilitating domestic and international payments through online and mobile channels.

"The WIB team is actively working with our business teams to build solutions that make it easier for all of our customers to do business with us in these areas."

gbond@nbr.co.nz