Westpac Banking Corporation, Australia's largest banking and financial services group, was the first bank to be established in Australia. The bank was founded in 1817 and was incorporated in 1850 as the Bank of New South Wales. In 1982, the bank merged with the Commercial Bank of Australia Limited, founded in the state of Victoria in 1866, and changed its name to Westpac Banking Corporation. Westpac's name is derived from the area which it has historically served--the western Pacific. The bank has shown tremendous growth in recent years and has become a truly international financial services group.