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The Commonwealth Bank has revealed expectations of rising bad debts and impairment charges, in line with similar forecasts from the other major banks in the last month.
Commenting on the bank’s March quarter update yesterday CBA chief executive Ralph Norris said operating conditions remained challenging.
“Rising unemployment and slowing credit demand will have negative implications for the Australian banking sector, particularly for volume growth and loan impairment charges,” he said.
Impairment expenses for the bank for the quarter were approximately $630 million.
"There was an increase in consumer arrears through the March quarter, consistent with the slowdown and rising unemployment. Commercial credit quality remains sound although the SME portfolio... [is] showing signs of deterioration,” Mr Norris said.
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