Dividend sustainable; credit provisions elevated but stable; productivity gains: Jablko

She told BlueNotes on video while there were specified costs in the result from restructuring which complicated the reported numbers, some of the changes would deliver benefits “very, very quickly”.

" We have held margins in a pretty tough, competitive environment and we’re also getting the benefits from productivity initiatives."
Michelle Jablko, ANZ CFO

“We have held margins in a pretty tough, competitive environment and we’re also getting the benefits from productivity initiatives,” Jablko said. “We want to make step changes in our cost base.”

While a new CFO, Jablko dismissed suggestions of “clearing the decks” but she accepted provisions for bad and doubtful debts were “a bit higher than we would have liked”.

She said the big opportunities would come from bringing together businesses which had been siloed and particularly where half the cost base was “sitting outside the businesses and not within their direct control”.

“So (addressing that) I think we can drive even better returns.”

Jablko said an improved return on equity was “cornerstone” of the bank’s transformation program.

She also spoke about stresses in the economy, capital generation and the sustainability of the dividend.

Andrew Cornell is managing editor at BlueNotes

You can watch ANZ chief executive officer Shayne Elliott speak about the ANZ result HERE.