Westpac
(ASX:WBC) has revealed new charges and provisions worth more than $800m that will combine with previously-announced Austrac penalty matters to take a $1.2billion hit to its second-half earnings.
The notable items include writedowns at its Westpac Life Insurance Services, auto finance businesses and capitalised software totalling total $568 million after tax.
Westpac said it would also lift the provision and costs from a civil case related to the breaches of the Australia’s money-laundering and terrorism financing laws by $415 million. This includes $404 million in provisions associated with its recent $1.3 billion settlement with Australia’s financial-intelligence agency that had previously been announced.
Other measures include an increase in provisions for customer refunds, repayments, associated costs, and litigation provisions of $182 million after tax, and asset sales and revaluations which reduce cash earnings by $55m after tax.
Shares in Westpac
(ASX:WBC) are trading 0.48 per cent lower at $18.69