Earbanean:

 

sbiddle:

 

One key thing may be the BS11 requirements - banks in NZ are spending billions to be compliant with this. Maybe Westpac just see this as an opportunity to exit?

 

 

Yep, that's right.  BS11 is a very non-trivial cost and suck on resources and would definitely factor into this sort of decision.

 

Who would buy a bank with BS11 hanging over its head.  You're right, it costs in a fortune to resolve.

Even if WestPac NZ is sold the buyer would still have to somehow decouple to get compliant.  It's a mammoth undertaking.