CBA to focus on improving current business over selling wealth management arm
(14 March 2019 – Australia) The Commonwealth Bank has put its plans to spin off its remaining wealth management businesses on hold, focusing instead on implementing the recommendations from the royal commission.
The bank says it remains committed to its strategy of exiting wealth management and mortgage broking, leaving many close to the transaction suggesting trade sales of individual businesses would be a less risky and equally desirable outcome for the lender.
Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn said the bank suspended the transaction because it needed to spend more time on fixing problems it knows it has, identifying those that remain and repaying all customers affected.
The blueprint for selling individual businesses via trade sale has already been established by the successful sale of Colonial First State Global Asset Management (CFSGAM) to Mitsubishi UFJ for $4.1 billion in October 2018.
Following the CFSGAM sale, the assets that remain to be spun off include the Colonial First State superannuation and investments platform, financial advice businesses such as Count Financial and Financial Wisdom, 100 per cent of Aussie Home Loans and an 18 per cent stake in Mortgage Choice.
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