Aussie banks focus on job cuts as inquiry looms
Big Four respond to revenue crunch by reducing costs; strategy coincides with start of a royal commission looking into misconduct in the financial sector starting on Monday
Sydney
AUSTRALIA'S big banks are responding to a revenue crunch by cutting jobs and other costs, prompting fears on the eve of an inquiry into their businesses that the industry's tarnished reputation is about to take another hit.
Regulators' demands that banks hold more capital and their scrutiny into internal operations have made cost cuts the in-vogue metric at the so-called Big Four banks - Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac Banking Corp - to boost profits.
But the strategic change will come at a cost for the banks.
"If you can be the most successful at bringing your staff numbers down the quickest, that's going to give you the quickest cost advant…
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