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The Finance Sector Union (FSU) fears a possible exodus of lending staff from Australia’s second biggest bank could make the nation’s mortgage market even less competitive.

Staff managing home loans for Westpac were told in May they would have to satisfy increased sales targets or face ‘performance consequences’ including dismissal.

The workers believe the targets, backdated to 1 April and introduced without consultation or explanation, will lead to burnout and resignations.

Some staff have seen their quarterly target rise by at least one million dollars or around 15% while others have been slugged with a 33% rise.

That outcome will in turn reduce competitiveness in a retail home loan market that is dominated by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Macquarie Bank.

Westpac reported a $3.4 billion profit for the first half of the 2026 financial year, helped along by record home loan growth.

The FSU has met with affected staff and says forecasts of softening housing demand will put workers under more pressure to meet the revised targets.

Westpac’s own chief executive of consumer banking, Carolyn McCann, says the Federal Government’s announcement of changes to the capital gains tax has resulted in a 20% drop in investor loan applications.

The FSU wants Westpac to properly consult with workers over the targets, commit to one national framework for determining targets along with more transparency surrounding the process, and adjust the targets to reflect changing market conditions.

Westpac workers in South Australia and the Northern Territory are not subject to the new target regime.

Finance Sector Union National Secretary Julia Angrisano said:

“Westpac has made a point of poaching high-performing lenders from competitors in an effort to take market share from CBA and Macquarie Bank.

“Squeezing the life out of that talent will only force them to leave the industry, something that will further entrench the power of the big two and leave borrowers with less choice.

“The staff who manage loans on behalf of Westpac are already heavily reliant on performance-based bonuses for their pay.

“Setting the bar higher will make life harder for them.

“The FSU is urging Westpac to look past short-term gain and work with the union and staff to come up with reasonable targets.”

Anonymous quotes from Westpac workers:

“We were put under an incredible amount of pressure to complete deals at all costs before the end of the March 31st half. The pressure was much greater than normal but now they’ve turned around and raised targets after all the accelerated deals of last half.”

“Westpac needs to recognise that with the current market uncertainty, it is not remotely realistic to continue to raise targets. Unless targets are reverted to reasonable levels, the best performers will just leave.”

“My target has retrospectively been raised despite Westpac not even being able to tell us if loans to investors planning to negatively gear meet lending policy and serviceability requirements. I am getting contradictory instructions, all verbal. How can Westpac raise targets during this mess?”

“I was verbally told by my manager that my targets were changing, and that they would be backdated. When I asked what the justification for harder targets was, they told me that it wasn’t my place to ask questions.”

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