FILE PHOTO: A pedestrian looks at his phone as he walks past a logo for Australia's Westpac Banking Corp located outside a branch in central Sydney, Australia, November 5, 2018. REUTERS/David Grayon Monday slashed its annual dividend and reported a 62% plunge in cash earnings due to write-downs and a record A$1.3 billion fine over a money-laundering case.
The coronavirus pandemic compounded the bank’s woes with its devastating effect on economic growth as the company recorded A$3.18 billion in impairment charges for the year compared with A$794 million a year earlier. The figure, however, beat an average estimate of A$2.49 billion, according to analysts polled by Reuters.
“We are addressing the issues that have impacted performance in our mortgage book and expect to see improvement start to flow in 2021,” Chief Executive Peter King said in a statement.