31 May 2025
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It’s a story of good news, bad news for Macquarie today as it posts earnings at the top of guidance, as ASIC issues a statement over the bank’s “repeated compliance failures”.
On Frida morning, Macquarie Group reported a full-year net profit of $3.7 billion, up 5% from FY24, exceeding analyst expectations. Despite a rocky economic environment, the second half of the year was notably stronger, with a 30% rise in profit to $2.1 billion.
The group’s return on equity rose to 11.2%, and assets under management reached $941.0 billion, up 3% from September. International income was particularly profitable, making up 66% of total income.
Performance across divisions was mixed, however. Asset Management posted a 33% increase in profit contribution to $1.6 billion, boosted by performance fees and the sale of its helicopter leasing business, Macquarie Rotorcraft.
Banking and Financial Services rose 11% to $1.3 billion, while Macquarie Capital remained steady at $1.04 billion. However, Commodities and Global Markets fell 12% to $2.83 billion, hurt by lower client activity and subdued conditions in key commodity markets.
The final dividend was $3.90 per share (35% franked), bringing the FY25 total to $6.50. The company has soared on the ASX today, up almost 5% by the middle of the session to over $204 a share.
Not all is rosy for the Millionaire Factory, however, as ASIC announced today it would take action against Macquarie for a series of compliance issues.
ASIC imposed additional licence conditions on the bank, citing repeated and significant compliance failures in its futures dealing and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives trade reporting.
The numbers are slightly staggering, with over 375,000 misreported trades, some spanning over a decade.
“Misreporting of OTC derivative transactions can undermine market transparency and hinders ASIC’s ability to monitor potential risks in Australia’s financial system,” said ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant in a statement.
“These licence conditions are necessary to give ASIC confidence the remediation will be effective and drive sustainable change,” she added.
Macquarie is cooperating, and plans to create a new remediation plan and appoint an independent expert to assess and verify said plan to tackle the governance issues.
Corporate regulator, ASIC, timed its announcement well, dropping the news at the same time Macquarie dropped its results this morning to time with the news cycle.
The news comes off the back of a tricky year of penalties for Macquarie. It copped a $5 million fine in September 2024 for issues relating to electricity futures market trading. Also, the Federal Court hit the Group with a $10 million penalty for failing to correctly surveil “unauthorised fee transactions” by third-parties on customer accounts.
Like most banks that reported this week, Macquarie is urging caution in a tumultuous an fast-moving environment.
CEO Shemara Wikramanayake used the results to highlight a need for a conservative stance on capital, funding, and liquidity in the face of this uncertainty.
The group elsewhere noted a range of potential influences on its short-term outlook, including volatility in global economic conditions, inflation and interest rate changes, geopolitical events, and the geographic composition of earnings.
But Wikramanayake and Macquarie are staying upbeat, at least for the “medium-term”, citing diverse income streams, its expertise in structurally growing markets, and ongoing investment in its operating platform.
