07:22

Earlier today, Westpac announced a half-yearly cash profit of $4.25bn, up 6% on this time last year.

It was the last of the big four banks to announce its results, with the Commonwealth Bank releasing its half-yearly cash profit in February ($4.7bn, down 1.9%), followed last week by ANZ ($3.5bn, up 4%), and NAB ($2.8bn, down 16%).



Westpac’s chief executive, Brian Hartzer, has taken the opportunity to acknowledge the damaging revelations emerging in the banking royal commission, saying the bank is working hard to restore customer trust.



“Westpac is already well advanced in taking steps that will improve customer outcomes,” he said in a statement to the stock exchange.



“We have been actively seeking out instances where we’ve got it wrong, and in those cases, putting it right for the customers affected.”



Just a reminder:



In the last fortnight of the royal commission, the senior counsel assisting the royal commission, Rowena Orr, told the commission it was open to find that Westpac may have breached its obligations under the Corporations Act in relation to two of its financial advisers.



The commission heard how one former financial planner, Andrew Smith, who worked for Westpac and St George bank between 2007 and 2015, eventually had to resign after it was discovered he was charging customers for services he never delivered, keeping woeful records, and asking clients to sign blank documents.



His misconduct led to numerous customer complaints being registered – which are expected to cost Westpac $2.2m in compensation payments to 91 clients.



Michael Wright, the head of Westpac’s BT financial advice subsidiary, admitted to the royal commission that it took months for Westpac to report Smith’s conduct to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) as a “significant breach”.

The commission also heard how a senior financial planner working for Westpac gave poor advice to a couple that cost them their dream retirement.

