The Commonwealth Bank's board of directors will consider whether to set aside money in the bank's accounts to cover any fines it may face over a money laundering compliance scandal.

Ahead of its half-year results next week, CBA on Wednesday said its board would consider possible fines when determining whether it would be "appropriate" to recognise a provision in its accounts in relation to the legal case brought by Austrac, the financial intelligence agency.

Financial markets expect CBA will ultimately pay a penalty over the Austrac allegations.

The comment followed a report in The Australian Financial Review that CBA had received legal advice that it would be commercially sound to pay up to $500 million to settle the blockbuster case, which is set to be fought in the courts this year.

In CBA's previous statement on the matter, in November, the bank said it had already made provisions for costs from efforts to beef up its anti-money laundering compliance, but it was not possible at the time to estimate the size of any possible penalties.