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Commbank sells future as ‘simpler’ at AGM
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has talked all about a “simpler” future for the bank in its annual general meeting, which didn’t leave much room for discussion of the past.
Commbank sells future as ‘simpler’ at AGM
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has talked all about a “simpler” future for the bank in its annual general meeting, which didn’t leave much room for discussion of the past.
Australia’s largest bank said it will be focusing on a “simpler” future in the wake of the royal commission, which has already seen them embark on a mass sell-off of assets including its life insurance sector, which infamously refused to help sick people.
CEO Matt Comyn did not mention the royal commission at all, while chairman Catherine Livingstone only used the term twice.
“Following on from the final report of the financial services royal commission in February this year, we welcomed the recent release of the government’s implementation roadmap,” Ms Livingstone said.
“We have already taken action on a number of the recommendations of the royal commission to improve outcomes for customers.”
“Importantly, we have pursued a wide-ranging program to improve governance, accountability and risk management, which are fundamental to changing the culture at CBA,” she expressed.
Becoming a simpler bank
In the meeting, the board was quick to highlight its strong economic performance, even with the reputation hit suffered during the first half of the financial year.
“Despite a subdued economy, the bank delivered strong operating results and CBA capital position is unquestionably strong,” Ms Livingstone outlined.
The bank had highlighted key asset sales post-royal commission: It’s already sold its New Zealand life insurance business, Sovereign; its asset management business, Colonial First State Global Asset Management; and its South African business, TymeDigital.
The bank is also in the process of selling its life insurance operations in Australia, China and Indonesia, and has announced it will be exiting Aligned Financial Advice businesses in Australia.
The meeting also saw CBA announced that it would be taking action on climate change, staff domestic violence leave and green mortgages as well as working to eliminate human slavery.
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