BoQ issues profit warning amid restructure, ME integration

The news: Bank of Queensland has issued a profit warning detailing an impact of $79 million in costs related to restructuring and its integration of ME Bank.

The numbers: BoQ said restructuring costs of $35 million and $44 million in relation to the ME integration would take a toll on the bank's FY23 profits. The pre-tax restructuring costs comprised redundancies (roughly $15 million), property impairment costs of around $11 million and roughly $14 million for technology updates.

The context: It has been turbulent 12 months for BoQ's corporate team, with former chair Patrick Allaway taking the reins from George Frazis as CEO in November 2022, preceding exits from chief operating officer Paul Newham and head of people and culture Debra Eckersley in mid-2023, the Australian Financial Review reports. BoQ will report earnings for the year to 31 August on 11 October. The regional bank acquired ME (Members Equity Bank) in mid-2021 for $1.325 billion and finalised its integration program in 2H2023.