Melbourne headquartered ANZ Bank has announced one of the largest drops in earnings at a major Australian bank for almost 10 years, after reporting a 24 percent drop in cash earnings to $2.8 billion.
This follows a tepid performance for its institutional business however most of the declines are due to $717 million in one-off items including changes to the way it accounts for software depreciation and an Asian related write down.
In what might be a coming trend, ANZ has also reduced its interim dividend by 7 percent and highlighted a permanent move to a lower payout ratio.
Tech Influence
ANZ with more exposure to Asian markets than its domestic contemporaries also suffered from that alignment with a $260 million write down in the value of its AmBank operations in Malaysia.
«Banking is continuing to experience rapid shifts in technology, customer expectations and regulation against a backdrop of low economic growth, volatile financial markets and rising credit costs. Our priority is to take bold action to ensure ANZ is fit and ready for this future. This means for the immediate future we are in a period of consolidation, simplification and transition,» said Shayne Elliott, ANZ Chief Executive Officer.
