The strength of the former Trustbank Otago was also a factor.
During a two-day tour of Dunedin and surrounding areas, Mr McLean talked to a wide range of clients and he was impressed with what he heard.
Otago was well placed. Agricultural growth was strong and dairy was on the rise. Although it had been wet in most other parts of New Zealand, Otago was not as badly affected.
The Otago education, tourism and health sectors were strong and the immediate growth prospects for tourism were impressive, he said in an interview.
''There are lots of advantages of being in Dunedin. The city has a real heritage feel about it and it has a good vibe because of the young student population.''
Christchurch had lost its heritage architecture because of earthquakes, Wellington was being upgraded because of the earthquake risks and Auckland did not have many heritage buildings left, Mr McLean said.
However, what Otago needed was a few more hotels to attract the people off the cruise ships back to the region.
Asked what people wanted to talk about to a banking chief executive, Mr McLean said the state of the economy was always a topic of concern.
The economy was providing mixed signals and the latest GDP economic growth figures showing, as expected, a fall in construction activity.
Construction was not likely to be a net contributor to GDP any more as the Christchurch rebuild started to slow.
The large current account deficit was a long-term problem for New Zealand because people were not good savers, he said.
Many people in New Zealand were looking for the next problem but when they looked at the world pages in the Otago Daily Times they needed to decide where they would rather be.
Problems in some European Union countries, the results of the British and United States elections meant New Zealand was well placed, Mr McLean said.
One thing he was impressed with was the number of businesses operating quietly but successfully in Dunedin that were growing at a good rate.
''Down there, people are clever and canny. The dairy farmers did not go crazy with the $8 payout, giving them the ability to tough it out for three seasons before bouncing back.''
Mr McLean praised his agribusiness team in Otago for the work they did in the region, talking to farmers and getting an understanding of the pertinent issues.
While acknowledging Westpac had more competition in Auckland, it remained strong in the regions, particularly Otago, he said.
