The big four bank informed investors on Friday that its first half statutory and cash profit will be impacted by a number of large items with a net after tax charge of $43 million.
ANZ disclosed four “notable items” ahead of the release of its first half 2022 results on 4 May.
Among them is the net after tax gain of $205 million relating to divestments and business closures primarily driven by the gain on sale of the Merchant Acquiring Business in exchange for a 49 per cent interest in a new ANZ Worldline Payment Solutions partnership.
Namely, last month ANZ announced it had entered into a joint venture with Worldline to provide Aussie small business, commercial and institutional customers with access to market-leading point-of-sale and online payment technology. The bank consequently sold its Merchant Acquiring Business to ANZ Worldline Payment Solutions.
Next on ANZ’s notable items list is a tax charge of $126 million relating to withholding tax on a dividend payment from ANZ Papua New Guinea.
ANZ explained that a capital injection was made into ANZ Papua New Guinea equivalent to the dividend, net of withholding tax, to rebalance capital positions within the group in response to APRA’s changes in the capital requirements for subsidiaries.
The third item is an after tax charge of $123 million in respect of customer remediation, covering increased program costs and revised estimates to customer remediation predominantly in the Australia retail and commercial division.
The fourth and last item is a net after tax gain of $1 million comprised of restructuring charges, divested business results and a litigation settlement.
ANZ reported a dramatic increase in full year 2021 profit on the back of a partial reversal of COVID-19 related credit provisions.
In October, ANZ said its statutory net profit after tax for the 12 months to 30 September 2021 was $6.16 billion, up 72 per cent on the previous year.
The bank has been at the receiving end of a number of legal processes over the past year, with a recent survey finding that ANZ has seen the highest level of ‘liar loans’ among major banks.
Namely, a survey by UBS found that 55 per cent of those who took out a home loan with ANZ during the last six months had made misstatements on their mortgage application.
“We think this is particularly concerning, given ANZ’s persistent declines in mortgage market share, and the fact that 81 per cent of the 93 respondents who misrepresented their ANZ originated loan claim they were advised to do so by their banker,” UBS said.
“ANZ’s continued deterioration is at odds with the broader improvement in bank originated loan factual accuracy in 2022 across other major and regional banks.”
ANZ’s first half results are expected on 4 May.
