My Baby obvious had some good news……. And I lighten on Friday...

My Baby obvious had some good news……. And I lighten on Friday still only around what I got out at….reckon $33 on the cards.


Gyro

COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA. 2002-08-21 ASX-SIGNAL-G

HOMEX - Sydney

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
In announcing its full year results today, the Commonwealth Bank
indicated that it will maintain its branch numbers at the current
number, foreshadowed further restructuring and highlighted a more
uncertain operating environment going forward.

The Bank announced a net profit after income tax of $2,655 million
for the year ended 30 June 2002, up 11% on the prior year. On a
"cash" (1) basis, net profit was $2,501 million, also an increase of
11%. Directors declared a fully franked dividend of 82 cents per
share for the six months, bringing the dividend per share for the
full year to 150 cents.

The Chief Executive Officer, Mr David Murray, said, "This is a good
result which has been achieved despite volatility in global equity
markets and higher credit losses during the first half of the year.
The strong banking result was achieved despite a slightly lower
margin, the funds management businesses grew strongly, and the life
insurance business was negatively affected by poor returns from
equity markets. Total assets held and funds under management grew by
6% to $327 billion. Return on total banking assets and funds under
management was 0.8%."

Mr Murray highlighted that the Bank's lending portfolio remains
soundly managed. The annualised credit charge for bad debt in the
second half of the year was less than the full year in 2000/2001,
despite the current weakening in the overall economic outlook.

Mr Murray said, "This result reflects the dedicated effort of the
Bank's 38,000 staff. I am happy to announce that, for the sixth time
in seven years, staff based in Australia with more than 12 months
service will receive a free grant of $1,000 worth of Commonwealth
Bank shares." He added that the Bank's staff had made good progress
towards new and better service standards. Their commitment to service
was integral to the Bank's solid performance in the following areas:

* Strong growth in housing loan balances of 16% to $92.9 billion;

* Retail deposits grew 10% to $64.2 billion;

* Average funds under management balances were 10% higher than in the
prior year; and

* Customers increasingly used the Bank's credit card and
transactional services, with total card balances increasing 15% to
$4.8 billion. Retail transactions fees represent 5% of total banking
income for the year.

With over 1,000 branches, the Commonwealth Bank's branch network
remains Australia's largest, exceeding its nearest competitor by
around 200 branches and the Bank has today announced that it will
keep branch numbers at the current level as of today. As a
consequence, a small number of branches that the Bank had previously
announced as closing, will remain open.

The Bank provides financial services to more Australians than any
other financial institution and, to continue to do so, must remain
competitive and efficient. The Bank is operating in an environment
characterised by increasing concern about equity market volatility,
particularly in the US. In Australia, lending growth for housing is
expected to slow, and, whilst business investment is showing signs of
improvement, the overall level of growth may be slower over coming
years.

Against the background of this uncertain and challenging environment,
the Bank needs to adapt in order to ensure its continued
competitiveness. Last December, four new divisions were created, each
with dedicated services for a particular group of customers. Since
then, detailed work has been completed in planning the implementation
of streamlined processes to facilitate faster decision making at the
front line, provide shorter response times to better meet customer
expectations and improve the Bank's responsiveness to customers'
needs. Implementing these changes will incur an incremental net cost
of approximately $120 million after tax in the coming year to cover
systems changes, re-engineering of overall processes and staff
redundancies. This amount will not be taken as a restructuring
provision but rather will be treated as an expense in the accounts.
The annual benefit in succeeding years will exceed this one-time
cost.

The Bank expects that total staff numbers will be further reduced by
around 1,000 by the end of this financial year as a result of
eliminating duplication, inefficiencies and some back office
processing. In addition to the 500 positions announced earlier, a
further 1,550 positions will no longer be required. At the same time,
there is expected to be an increase of some 550 positions,
principally providing customer service. While every attempt will be
made to redeploy displaced staff, where this is not possible staff
will receive a redundancy package.

The Bank expects to achieve satisfactory earnings growth over the
coming year having regard to the economic conditions.

Within this calendar year and subject to the receipt of regulatory
approvals, the Bank intends to issue complying capital securities to
enable it to undertake a share buy-back of approximately $500
million.

For further information, please contact

Bryan Fitzgerald
GROUP CORPORATE RELATIONS
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Telephone: (02) 9378 2663

For copies of the Profit Announcement visit the Bank's website at
www.commbank.com.au

1 "Cash basis" is defined as net profit after tax and before goodwill
amortisation, life insurance and funds management appraisal value
uplift.

PERFORMANCE SUMMARY

Key aspects of the results:

Net Profit After Tax attributable to shareholders
(statutory) $2,655 million
Net Profit After Tax (cash basis)1 $2,501 million
Banking: Net Profit After Tax $2,067 million
Funds Management: Net Profit After Tax $216 million
Life Insurance: Net Profit After Tax $218 million
Total assets held and Funds Under Management $327 billion
Final dividend (fully franked) 82 cents per share

Key Performance Measures and Comparison to prior year:

Net Profit After Tax attributable to
shareholders (statutory) $2,655 million Up 11%
Net Profit After Tax (cash basis)(1) $2,501 million Up 11%
Return on Equity (2) (cash basis)(1) 13.93% Up from 12.83%
Earnings per Share (cash basis) (1,3) 197 cents Up 10% or 18c
Lending Assets net of securitisation $161 billion Up 8%
Banking Cost Income Ratio 54.1% Down from 57.7%
Risk Weighted Capital Ratio 9.80% Up from 9.16%
Tier 1 Ratio 6.78% Up from 6.51%

(1) "Cash basis" is defined as net profit after tax and before
goodwill amortisation, life insurance and funds management appraisal
value uplift.

(2) Ratio based on profit from ordinary activities after tax and
outside equity interest applied to average shareholders equity,
excluding outside equity interests

(3) Earnings are net of dividends on preference shares of $34 million
(30 June 2001: $9 million).