Australia: The party’s over for Australian banks

Despite record profits, Australian banks face difficulties in the year ahead. Albert Smith looks at how the four major banks are positioned to handle a radical shake-up of the banking industry.

Australian banks have emerged from their most prosperous year – reporting record profit growth and strengthened balance sheets – but face considerable turmoil in 1996 and the years beyond.

The profit story of the banks has been impressive. In the reporting season which ended in November, all four major banks reported considerable gains. The combined profit of these banks was a $4.95 billion (US$3.6 billion) after taxation – a 15.2% improvement over the previous year’s a $3.9

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