Abacus Australian Mutuals has added to the rising discontent with bank profits, describing recent results as a “slap in the face to hardworking Australians”.
In response to Westpac’s first quarter profit announcement yesterday of $1.6 billion, which followed Commonwealth Bank’s results last week of $2.9 billion, Abacus Australian Mutuals chief executive Louise Petschler encouraged bank customers to shop around for a better alternative.
“The recent results from Westpac and the Commonwealth make it abundantly clear that they put their shareholders before their customers,” she said.
“The major Australian banks have been crying poor over the cost of funding then turn around and announce record profits. A strong retail banking system is a good thing for Australia, but these sorts of profits are a slap in the face to hard-working Australians.”
She said it is about time bank customers said no and looked for an alternative, such as credit unions or mutual building societies.
