ANZ has announced a 51 per cent slump in profits, mainly due to $1 billion in extra reserves for COVID-19-related loan losses.
Key points:
- ANZ’s profit has fallen by 51pc to $1.55b due mainly to $1.7 billion in extra loan loss reserves
- The bank also took an $815m hit from writing down its Asian investments, mainly due to coronavirus
- ANZ’s board is deferring a decision on whether to pay a dividend, and how much, until there is more clarity on the COVID-19 situation
In total, the bank has announced “impairment charges” — reserves to cover expected bad loans — of $1.67 billion.
On top of that, ANZ has also taken an $815 million hit to the value of its Asian investments due to coronavirus and