Westpac says it will lose $173 million in the 2023 financial year to significant items such as restructuring costs, customer remediation and litigation. The biggest item hurting profits was the provisions for customer refunds at $176 million, followed by restructuring costs related to its job cuts and business simplification including shuttering the premier banking division.
Westpac wrote down property assets “related to the reduction in corporate office space and accelerated consolidation of branches” to the tune of $87 million. There was also a $26 million hedging loss recognised, but the bank said it had “no impact to the group’s profit over time as the hedges reverse”. However, a $256 million boost from selling Advance Asset Management business to Mercer Australia in April would reduce the overall losses.