Westpac Banking Corp <WBC.AX> said it would write down more than A$3.67 billion ($2.36 billion) in its first-half results, with most of the charges stemming from the economic deterioration expected from the coronavirus outbreak.
Westpac is the second of Australia's Big Four banks to reveal estimates of losses related to the pandemic, taking a larger charge and a more forthright approach than its smaller peer National Australia Bank <NAB.AX> on Monday, analysts said.
Australia's second-largest bank said on Tuesday that it would take a pre-tax impairment charge of A$2.24 billion due to potential virus-related credit losses, equivalent to about 0.62% of gross loans, up from 0.13% in the previous half.
That was on top of the A$1.43 billion after-tax impairment charge it flagged earlier, partly to cover a potential fine over accusations it enabled millions of illegal payments including between known child sex offenders.
"Having materially strengthened capital over the last decade, building significant buffers, we are well positioned to absorb this increase and respond to future developments," Westpac's newly appointed CEO Peter King said in a statement.
The statement suggests that despite the large charges, Westpac may not launch a capital raising when it announces interim results on May 4, Goldman Sachs <GS.N> analysts said.
Investors fear capital raisings from the Big Four could be in the offing after NAB tapped investors for A$3.5 billion and slashed its dividend to the lowest in almost three decades.
Westpac shares rose 1.36%, partially reversing previous day's heavy losses, in a market <.AXJO> that was slightly lower.
VIRUS STRESS
Australian banks, counting the cost of years of financial misconduct through fines and refunds, are now bracing for a surge in bad debts as customers seek loan and payment deferrals amid an economic downturn triggered by measures to contain the virus, which has killed 84 people in the country.
The world's No.12 economy is expected to plunge into its first recession in 30 years due to the health crisis, and the government has committed A$320 billion, or about 16% of GDP, in relief funding, Australia's biggest emergency package ever.
Two of the country's Big Four lenders have so far detailed a hit to upcoming earnings, with No. 3 lender National Australia Bank <NAB.AX> making an A$1.22 billion provision in late-April, equivalent to about 0.38% of gross loans.
"Investors will rightly query whether NAB has taken sufficient provisions," Citigroup <C.N> analysts said in a note.
Westpac said its virus-related impairments were based on a number of assumptions, such as lower expected economic growth, higher unemployment and an expected fall in both residential and commercial property prices, without elaborating.
It also includes an assessment of additional stress that could emerge in various industries as a result of the outbreak.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group <ANZ.AX> is due to report interim results over the next fortnight. Commonwealth Bank of Australia <CBA.AX>, which has a different financial calendar, reported slightly lower interim earnings in February.
(Reporting by Paulina Duran in Sydney; Additional reporting by Rashmi Ashok in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates and Himani Sarkar)
