BNY Mellon has been appointed by Westpac Banking Corporation as the successor depositary bank for its American depositary receipt (ADR) program.
Westpac, one of Australia's largest banking institutions, provides retail, business and institutional banking and wealth management services from offices around the world.
Each Westpac ADR represents five ordinary shares and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WBK. Westpac's ordinary shares trade on the Australian Securities Exchange under the symbol WBC.
"The U.S. is a key strategic market for Westpac in terms of our investor relations efforts," says Philip Coffey, Westpac's CFO. "Westpac has a long history of working with U.S. investors and is looking forward to continuing to build its ADR program with the assistance of BNY Mellon."
Christopher M. Kearns, CEO of BNY Mellon's Depositary Receipt business, adds: "We've seen growing interest from Australian companies in launching a DR program to improve access for global investors seeking portfolio diversification. Our appointment by Westpac shows their commitment to American investors, and we will tailor a program to help them better tap into this important capital market."