Commonwealth Bank of Australia has expanded its support for customers over the past financial year, using its strong balance sheet to provide a range of assistance measures to help people with the current cost of living pressures at the same time as keeping them safer from fraud and scams.
Speaking as CBA delivered its annual results for the 12 months to 30 June 2024, CEO Matt Comyn acknowledged the pressures being felt by many Australians and outlined the steps the Bank had been taking to proactively support customers, including direct financial assistance and greater investment in security measures.
For mortgage and consumer finance customers most in need, 132,000 tailored payment arrangements have been provided to help people manage repayments and their household budgets.
More than 6 million eligible customers can now access up to $2,000 in credit with no interest and no monthly fees, while proactive alerts have been sent to GoalSaver account customers to help deliver bonus interest.
Greater investment in security measures - amounting to $800 million in the 12 months to 30 June 2024 to combat fraud, scams, cyber and financial crime - has resulted in scam losses falling by 50 per cent this year. NameCheck, an Australian-first innovation which verifies account-to-account payments, has prevented $410 million in mistaken payments and scams.
Separately, 20,000 payments a day are being blocked due to concerns about their source or eventual destination while the number of alerts sent out by CBA about possible unauthorised card payments have risen five-fold on last year with the aim of preventing fraudulent transactions.
"Many Australians continue to be challenged by cost-of-living pressures and a fall in real household disposable income," said Mr Comyn. "With slower economic growth and moderating demand, our strong balance sheet allows us to continue to support our customers and the broader economy and deliver sustainable returns.
"For customers who are finding it tough, we can support them in lots of different ways - from helping them feel more in control, to easing the pressure with a repayment plan, or accessing a safety net or working capital to support their business.
"That help is easier than ever to access. We want people to reach out early if they need it."
On fraud and scams, Mr Comyn said CBA's innovations and the work it was doing with government and business was making a difference.
"People want safe and secure banking. We decreased scam losses to our customers by more than 50 per cent and we're working with other businesses and government to further reduce scams but there's much more to do. One dollar lost to scammers is a dollar too much.
"Banks, telcos and social media companies need to work together to stop scammers and disrupt cyber and financial crime. We're helping to coordinate that approach. We're also sharing our technology and intelligence with other organisations."
Mr Comyn's comments came as he announced an annual cash net profit after tax of $9.8 billion for the bank in the 2024 financial year which was 2 per cent down on the corresponding period 12 months ago and 3 per cent less on the first half of FY24. Statutory net cash profit after tax was $9.48 billion down 6 per cent on FY23.
The fall in profits was the result of lower lending and deposit margins driven by increased business competition and inflationary pressures in operating expenses, partly offset by volume growth and lower loan impairment expenses.
Despite the lower profits, the board has declared a fully-franked final dividend of $2.50 a share, an increase of 3 per cent on 12 months ago, taking the total for the year to $4.65 a share.
The dividend payment represents a payout ratio of 79 per cent of the group's net cash profit after tax which is towards the top of the Board's target range of between 70 per cent to 80 per cent. Eligible shareholders who are on the share registry at 22 August 2024 will receive their dividend payments on or about 27 September 2024.
Approximately $8 billion has been paid in dividends and share buy-backs benefiting more than 13 million shareholders who own Commonwealth Bank shares directly or in their super funds.
The other key points of the results were:
- Operating expenses of $12.2 billion, up 3 per cent year-on-year as a result of higher inflation impacting salary costs;
- Investment spend of just over $2 billion including technology improvements to enhance customer services, improve resilience and to meet evolving regulatory requirements;
- Net interest margins of 1.99 per cent, down eight basis points on FY23 largely as a result of competition for loans and deposits;
- Loan impairment expense of $802 million, down 28 per cent on a year ago, reflecting the bank's robust credit origination and underwriting practices, rising house prices and improved outlook in consumer finance;
- A Common Equity Tier Ratio 1 (CET1) capital ratio of 12.3 per cent, well above the banking regulator's minimum requirement of 10.25 per cent;
- The group has extended the completion of its $1 billion on-market share buy-back announced last year for a further 12 months.
Mr Comyn said the group's balance sheet strength would allow CBA to continue supporting the broader economy. Over the last financial year, CommBank directly helped 120,000 customers buy a home, funded $50 billion to home builders, developers and tradies and lent $39 billion to Australian businesses more broadly to support their growth.
As to the outlook, Mr Comyn said higher interest rates were slowing the economy and gradually moderating inflation. At the same time, the economy was proving to be resilient as a result of low unemployment, continued private and public investment and exports supporting national income.
"Australia remains well positioned but downside risks continue around productivity, housing affordability as well as ongoing global uncertainty," he added. "We will play our part in stimulating economic growth by lending to productive parts of the economy. We will also continue to invest in our franchise to bring our purpose to life, building a brighter future for all."
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