ANZ has announced that its second half 2019 (2H19) cash profit will be impaired by a charge of $559 million (after-tax) as a result of increased provisions for customer related remediation.
The costs include a $405 million after-tax ($485 million before tax) charge within continuing operations, which the bank said largely related to product reviews in Australia retail & commercial for fee and interest calculation and related matters.
ANZ added that such costs also include historical matters recently identified during the period, as well as refinements to estimates of existing customer compensation programs and associated costs.
Further, within discontinued operations, remediation charges recognised in ANZ’s 2H19 results will be $154 million after-tax ($166 million before tax), which ANZ claimed are primarily associated with the advice remediation program and customer compensation charges for other wealth products.
This might not be the end of the matter, as the charges relate to issues that have been identified from previous reviews and from reviews which remain ongoing.
Following the announcement, ANZ chief financial officer Michelle Jablko said: “We recognise the impact this has on both customers and shareholders.
“We are well progressed in fixing issues and have a dedicated team of more than 500 specialists working hard to get any money owed back to customers as quickly as possible.”
ANZ will release its full-year 2019 financial results on 31 October.
