Aussie CBA sets record US$4.4bil buyback

Pandemic control: A file picture showing a pedestrain walking past a CBA branch. Australia’s swift economic rebound has driven property prices and credit growth higher, boosting banks coffers. — AFP

SYDNEY: Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the country’s largest lender, has announced a record A$6bil (US$4.41bil or RM18.69bil) share buyback as an economic rebound from the pandemic pushed its annual cash profit up almost a fifth.

Australia’s early control of the pandemic in 2020 and the resulting swift economic rebound have driven property prices and credit growth higher, boosting banks coffers.