News
Westpac has deferred a decision on paying an interim dividend to shareholders after posting a 70 per cent drop in first-half cash earnings following a hefty impairment charge due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Business
The bushfire crisis will cost Australia $5 billion in direct losses and lop off 0.2 to 0.5 per cent from its economic growth, Westpac has estimated.
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Australia’s financial intelligence agency is pursuing Westpac for alleged breaches of money laundering and counter-terror laws.
Westpac has cut its dividend for the first time in a decade after its full-year profit fell by 15 per cent to $6.85 billion.
Westpac will spend another $260 million to compensate customers affected by its “errors”, taking its total remediation payments so far to $659 million.
Westpac’s major rivals may not rush to follow the lender’s move to raise mortgage rates, with regulators’ glare and the threat of an increased bank levy keeping them on hold, according to one leading analyst.
