Westpac takes 24% profit hit
Westpac has suffered a 24 per cent first-half profit slump to $3.173 billion, leading its chief executive, Brian Hartzer to describe it as a disappointing result reflecting weaker business conditions and other issues including remediation and the resetting of the bank’s wealth strategy.
Importantly, cash earnings excluding major remediation and restructuring items were down five per cent.
Despite the negativity, the company announced an unchanged fully franked dividend of 94 cents per share.
However, Hartzer said the past six months had been a turning point for the bank and that it was proactively addressing legacy issues while improving the products and services it delivered.
“We are exiting personal financial advice to focus on the parts of our wealth business where we have a competitive advantage and we are delivering significant cost savings by simplifying the business,” he said.
On the big-ticket item of customer remediation costs, the bank confirmed it had provisioned $1,445 million pre-tax over the past three years, including $1,249 million for customer refunds.
Recommended for you
ASIC has released the results of its first adviser exam to be held in 2025, with 241 candidates attempting the test.
Quarterly Wealth Data analysis has uncovered positive improvements in financial adviser numbers compared with losses in the prior corresponding period.
Holding portfolios that are too complex or personalised can be a detractor for acquirers of financial advice firms as they require too much effort to maintain post-acquisition.
As the financial advice profession continues to wait on further DBFO legislation, industry commentators have encouraged advisers to act now in driving practice efficiency.
