Westpac restructuring guru Gwyn Morgan to retire

Gwyn Morgan

Retiring: Westpac’s head of credit restructuring Gwyn Morgan.

After 43 years Gwyn Morgan, Westpac Bank’s head of credit restructuring is retiring.

A spokesman for Westpac confirmed yesterday that Morgan will hand the helm to his trusted lieutenant Dave Lee in a couple of months.

His departure follows an illustrious – albeit anonymous career – leading the restructures of some of Australia most colossal corporate collapses.

HIH, Burns Philp and Arrium have become nationally recognised symbols of what happens when banks believe a company is too big to fail.

By contrast Morgan and his restructuring peers in the big four have been the least visible among the ranks of c-suite and other senior finance sector executives.

Lee, who’s been with Westpac for 17 years, ha plenty of experience, having already has a seven month stint as acting head of credit restructuring when his boss took long service leave in 2016/17.

Neither man was available to speak prior to our publication deadline – and given their legendary aversion to publicity – who’d be surprised.

SiN however is hopeful we can soon bring you more detail around Morgan’s departure, which we were assured has nothing whatsoever to do with the commencement of the banking inquiry.

As for the Federal Government’s new Banking Executive Accountability Regime (known as BEAR), which gives APRA powers similar to ASIC’s (though the corporate regulator lacks the resources to wield those powers effectively), well regrettably never know how Morgan would’ve dealt with an empowered APRA and that’s a shame given we know how he dealt with IPs who displeased him. Further reading: Grant Thornton Excoriated Over Arrium

About the Author

Peter Gosnell
Insolvency News Online illuminates the practice of insolvency Australia-wide, highlighting the triumphs and travails of the nation’s registered practitioners and the accounting and legal professionals who work with them. INO is produced by Peter Gosnell, former business editor and senior business reporter at The Daily Telegraph newspaper. During a decade-long career, your correspondent reported on such notable corporate collapses as HIH, One.Tel, Westpoint and Fincorp as well as some of the nation's highest profile bankruptcies and the investigations and prosecutions arising from Australia's most notorious instances of white-collar crime.

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