Westpac Banking Corp will jettison its loss-making financial advice business in a restructure that will result in 900 job losses and the departure of two of its most senior executives.

Viridian Advisory will take over part of the bank's advice arm while the rest of Westpac's BT Financial Group businesses - private wealth, superannuation, life insurance and investments - will be rolled into its consumer and business banking divisions.

Westpac is exiting financial advice. Wayne Taylor

Under the changes, consumer bank chief George Frazis and BT chief Brad Cooper will both leave the company. Bank watchers said Mr Frazis, a 10-year veteran of Westpac, could be a potential contender for the vacant chief executive positions at National Australia Bank or Bank of Queensland, or an overseas role.

Financial advice was one of the biggest problem areas unearthed during the royal commission, with commissioner Kenneth Hayne recommending a ban on “grandfathered” commissions, tighter curbs on fees charged by advisers and a new disciplinary regime for the sector.

Banks face hefty compensation bills and compliance costs, and Westpac revealed last year it was reconsidering staying in advice.

Chief executive Brian Hartzer on Tuesday said advice had become unprofitable, citing rising costs and the impact of the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) laws, which banned advisers from receiving commissions on investment products.

“For the last few years, we've seen rising costs in terms of compliance, the FOFA reforms obviously put downward pressure on some of the revenue, and so I’d say that the writing has been on the wall for us for a number of years,” he said.

The change would result in about 900 job losses, Mr Hartzer said, with Viridian offering employment to about 175 BT salaried advisers, and other management and support staff.

Almost 10,000 customers will receive offers to move across to Viridian, while the remaining 10,000 or so clients will be given options for alternative advisers.

Westpac will continue to provide life insurance and a wealth management platform, Panorama, under the BT banner and will refer clients seeking financial advice to a panel of firms, as it would with people needing accounting or legal advice.

Other banks are also seeking to exit financial advice, though these deals have been delayed in recent months due to the complex and uncertain regulatory environment.

ANZ's plans to sell most of its advice businesses to IOOF have been clouded by regulatory action against IOOF, Commonwealth Bank's wealth demerger was indefinitely suspended last week, and National Australia Bank's plan to spin off MLC has also been delayed until next year.

CLSA analyst Brian Johnson said the decision made sense for Westpac, but was not a great outcome for customers because the advisers would no longer have a bank standing behind them to provide compensation if needed.

"These are businesses that have got to be run, basically, for shareholders returns, and it does not make sense for banks to own these businesses anymore," Mr Johnson said.

With BT to be rolled into the consumer division, George Frazis is leaving the bank in June "to pursue other leadership opportunities". Jessica Hromas

Bell Potter analyst TS Lim also said selling the advice business, which has been loss-making in recent years, "makes sense" for Westpac.

With BT to be rolled into the consumer division, Mr Frazis is leaving the bank in June "to pursue other leadership opportunities". He'll be replaced by business banking head David Lindberg. Alastair Welsh will act as chief executive of the business banking division.

Mr Lim said Mr Frazis would probably turn up in another senior executive role at a bank, and he could be a potential candidate to be the next CEO of NAB.

Viridian's chief executive and co-founder, Glenn Calder, said the deal with Westpac would set the firm up for "strong growth", as the industry focused on fees for service and the provision of quality advice.

Westpac said one-off costs from the sale were expected to be between $250 million and $300 million, spread across the 2019 and 2020 financial years, but quitting advice would also remove about $280 million in annual costs.

Westpac's shares fell 0.4 per cent to $26.42, as big bank shares all dipped slightly.