Commonwealth Bank is committed to becoming a simpler, better bank. We made this commitment to our customers, our shareholders and the community, and we expect to be judged by the outcomes.
Implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission in a timely and effective manner is crucial to delivering on our objectives. The work underway is significant and this submission provides an update on our progress.
Our work related to the Royal Commission recommendations forms part of a much wider program of reform and transformation at CBA. This work began in 2017 at our initiative in the face of a range of issues uncovered by CBA and reported to regulators, and was expanded in 2018 to include implementation of recommendations arising from APRA’s review of our governance, risk management and accountability frameworks.
We know that the specific recommendations of the Royal Commission are the minimum required of us to restore trust and meet community expectations. Participation in the Royal Commission also forced us to again confront fundamental questions about the focus of our business, our governance and our treatment of customers.
Our current reforms span a wide set of actions that are both strategic and fundamental. They include divesting businesses to allow us to focus on our core banking business; investing nearly $900 million in risk and compliance enhancements; and implementing the new Banking Code of Practice. At the same time, we continue to make changes to improve the products and services we offer our customers by removing fees, simplifying terms and doing more to support our customers when they need it.
