Battered AMP is still seeing outflows from its wealth management business, including the loss of a large corporate client.

Australia’s AMP reported Thursday that outflows from its wealth management business continued in the first quarter of this year, albeit at a slower pace.

Australia Outflows

The wealth management business in Australia saw net cash outflows of A$1.3 billion (US$940.23 million) in the January-to-March period, narrower than the year-earlier quarter’s A$2.0 billion of outflows, according to the company’s filing to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). The assets under management (AUM) in Australia fell to A$136.5 billion in the quarter, on lower investment markets and the outflows, AMP said.

In 2021, AMP’s Australian wealth management saw net cash outflows of A$5.2 billion, partly on the early release of superannuation payments to support customers during the pandemic, according to the 2021 annual report. But the Australia AUM in 2021 rose 8 percent from 2020 on strong market returns, the report said.

AUM in New Zealand also fell, coming in at A$11.3 billion, compared with A$12.2 billion in the fourth quarter, on both market declines and outflows, AMP said.

Losing Woolworths

The pain isn’t over: On Thursday, AMP said it lost the corporate superannuation mandate from Australian supermarket giant Woolworths, with the end-date in the first half of next year. That’s expected to generate a one-off cash outflow of A$4 billion, but it isn’t expected to materially impact profitability, AMP said. Superannuation funds are part of Australia’s retirement savings programs.

The Australian wealth manager pointed to one bright spot: the North platform, which serves external financial advisors (EFAs), reported inflows from EFAs of A$342 million, up 53 percent from the year-ago quarter.

Scandal-Plagued

AMP has taken hits on the chin from scandals in recent years.

In 2020, AMP saw outflows after it handled a sexual harassment complaint poorly. The company has also lost mandates from superannuation funds.

Several years ago, a government-led public inquiry found AMP was allegedly charging customers for services they didn’t receive, charging dead customers for life insurance premiums and allegedly doctored a report to the corporate regulator.