Westpac CEO Believes Interest Rates May Need to Rise Further to Combat Inflation

Westpac CEO Peter King advocates further rate hikes amid his bank’s spike in profits.

Westpac acting CEO Peter King during the Westpac 2019 Annual General Meeting at ICC Sydney, Australia on Dec. 12, 2019. Westpac has come under scrutiny in recent weeks following the launch of an investigation by Australia's financial intelligence agency - AUSTRAC - over a money laundering and child exploitation scandal. Photo by Sam Mooy/Getty Images

Westpac CEO Peter King has said interest rates will need to rise further off the back of a substantial lift in his bank’s annual profits. 

“It’s looking like interest rates need to go a bit higher because the economy is stronger than what we think,” he said in a media release (pdf).