Elliott: bank is prepared, learning, adapting

Click here for a transcript of this conversation

Speaking to bluenotes via video from his home in Melbourne during Stage 4 restrictions, Elliott said the bank had gone back to basics to ensure the right long-term decisions were being made for the business, customers, shareholders and the broader economy.

Elliott said in many ways, the crisis provided the bank with an opportunity to show its true worth to its customers, communities and the economy.

 “We know our customers today better than ever. We’re spending time with them, getting to know their character as much as their balance sheets,” Elliott said.

“We’re prepared, we’re in reasonably good shape. That does not mean it will be easy but I’m feeling really confident about our ability to flex, change and roll with the times. But the trading environment is clearly going to be difficult.”

On the decision to pay shareholders a dividend of A25 cents per-share fully franked, Elliott said the bank has the capacity to do so because of a strengthened balance sheet and higher levels of capital this quarter while still putting money aside for a rainy day via credit provisions.

You can watch the full conversation in the video above.

Andrew Cornell is managing editor of bluenotes