CMC Markets Wins Westpac Broking Deal, Extending Long-Running Partnership
CMC Markets Stockbroking has been chosen as the preferred vendor to provide trading technology for Westpac Banking Corporation, a move that extends a relationship already spanning more than a decade and brings one of Australia’s largest banks closer to a single brokerage platform.
The agreement means Westpac’s retail customers using its Share Trading service, as well as those of St.George Directshares, will gradually move onto CMC’s infrastructure over the next year. CMC expects the integration to increase its Australian customer base by about 40 per cent and lift domestic trading volumes by 45 per cent once completed.
Westpac’s Ashley Stewart said the bank opted for CMC later than a competitive tender process. “We’ve selected CMC Markets Stockbroking as our preferred platform supplier for Westpac’s online share trading services to deliver innovative trading features and a leading user experience,” Stewart said.
CMC founder and chief executive Peter Cruddas called the win a validation of the company’s strategy to provide both retail brokerage and white-label platforms. “There is no greater validation of our capabilities than when a major institution places their trust in our technology to serve their valued customers,” he said.
CMC entered Australia’s share trading business in 2008 when it bought Andrew West & Co., a Sydney-based brokerage. That gave the London-listed firm a foothold in a market dominated by bank-owned rivals such as Commonwealth Bank’s CommSec.
The company cemented its reputation as a partner for large institutions in 2018, when it began powering ANZ’s white-labelled share trading service. Three years later, CMC bought ANZ Share Investing outright, acquiring more than 500,000 clients and A$45 billion in assets. The Westpac mandate now gives CMC a comparable opportunity to scale, with the added challenge of integrating multiple brands under one banking group.
Westpac’s split arrangements
Until now, Westpac’s brokerage services were fragmented. St.George Directshares already relied on CMC’s platform, but Westpac Share Trading was offered through Australian Investment platform Limited (AUSIEX), a wholesale broker spun out of CommSec and sold to Nomura Research Institute in 2021.
The new deal shifts both Westpac and St.George onto the identical technology, streamlining operations across a bank that also controls Bank of Melbourne and BankSA. Westpac’s 2008 merger with St.George left it with overlapping brands, and the consolidation of brokerage platforms has been a long time coming.
The Australian online broking market is still dominated by CommSec, but competition has intensified. CMC is now the second-largest broker in the country with more than A$90 billion in assets under administration and over 1.2 million share trading accounts. Challenger platforms such as Selfwealth and Stake have also been picking up younger customers with low-cost trading and slick apps.
By locking in Westpac, CMC bolsters its business-to-business moat and positions itself as the go-to partner for banks that want to outsource technology rather than build it in-house.
The migration will not be straightforward. Moving tens of thousands of clients requires careful handling of CHESS sponsorship, account transfers and communications on fees and features. CMC’s integration of ANZ clients gives it a playbook, but Westpac’s larger footprint across multiple brands raises the stakes.
For Westpac, the deal is about consolidating technology and upgrading customer experience without having to develop costly new systems. For CMC, it is another step in building scale and proving its model of running both its own retail arm and outsourced platforms.
The real test will come once the transition is complete: whether Westpac clients embrace the new setup and whether CMC can translate its growing footprint into sustainable revenue in an increasingly competitive market.
