Westpac boss Peter King has played down fears Australia is headed for a fiscal cliff once government stimulus is cut next month, after a surprise drop in bad debts drove the lender’s quarterly profits sharply higher.
Mr King on Wednesday joined other bank chiefs in declaring the Australian economy had rebounded from the COVID-19 shock much faster than expected, leading to more favourable conditions for the banks.
The upbeat outlook came as the bank slashed bad debt provisions, helping to drive unaudited cash earnings for the December quarter to $2 billion, a 54 per cent rise on the quarterly average from the September half, excluding notable items. Read more…..
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Westpac has agreed to pay $1.3 billion for 23 million breaches of money laundering laws.
