Commonwealth Bank CEO warns of profit pressure

Sydney

COMMONWEALTH Bank of Australia (CBA) chief executive Ian Narev on Wednesday said that there would be ongoing pressure on profits at Australia's biggest lender due to an "unprecedented" environment of low interest rates and inflation.

His comments came as Fitch Ratings said that operating profits at Australia's four biggest banks were likely to be squeezed over the next 12 months as stress from the mining and apartment-building sectors undermines asset quality.

CBA, Westpac, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and National Australia Bank posted their first combined drop in pre-tax profit in eight years for the 2016 financial year, Fitch said. Pre-tax profit fell to A$41 billion (S$43.7 billion), down …