Saatchi & Saatchi has won St George Bank’s advertising account while Ogilvy has retained the Bank of Melbourne business following a pitch process for the Westpac brands.

Ogilvy fought off competition from DDB, BMF and CumminsRoss for the account it has held since the brand was launched in 2011.

It is understood that St George’s pitch saw Saatchi & Saatchi come up against DDB, Ogilvy and BMF.

Michael Rebelo, chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi, said St George Bank “is on a mission, as are we”.

George Frazis, chief executive officer of St George Banking group, added: “Saatchi & Saatchi’s strategic approach was exceptional and equally matched by their creative ideas and the team is extremely excited to begin work with them.”

The Bank of Melbourne’s chief executive, Scott Tanner, said Ogilvy’s pitch has “given us great confidence” in the agency as the bank “moves into its important next phase in Victoria”.

Andrew Baxter, Ogilvy Australia’s CEO, added: "We're really proud of the work we've done in helping Bank of Melbourne achieve such a successful launch and thrilled that we'll be part of the team that will drive its next phase of growth.”

The new agency arrangements follow the appointment of DDB as lead agency for Westpac in August last year.

John Harries, general manager of strategic marketing for Westpac, said: “We have conducted a very in-depth pitch process which has seen a tremendous effort and creative insight from all agencies and I would like to thank everyone involved.

“It was evident that a significant amount of work was put into all of the pitches, which made the decision a difficult one.”