Bank of Queensland Needs to Keep Cost Growth Down to Deliver Profit Recovery

Bank of Queensland is one of Australia's top-10 largest banks, but is considerably smaller than the four major Australian banks. Preceding the global financial crisis, the bank grew aggressively via acquisitions and the rollout of its distinctive owner-manager branch franchise model. However, expanding the branch network and diversifying from traditional residential lending came at a cost, with additional equity required to fund growth, significantly increased bad debts, and multiple banking systems, which resulted in deteriorating cost/income and returns on equity.