Commonwealth Bank of Australia posts 13 percent increase in annual profit to $8 billion

SYDNEY – Commonwealth Bank of Australia, one of the nation's largest lenders, has posted a 13 percent increase in annual profit to 8.6 billion Australian dollars ($ 8 billion) and expressed cautious optimism for the current fiscal year.

The 102-year-old bank reported Wednesday gains in all its core divisions through the year ending June 30, 2014, with customer deposits up AU$34 billion to AU$439 billion and accounting for 64 percent of the bank's total funding.

The bank's chief executive officer Ian Narev described the 2014 fiscal year as "a period of relative stability in the global economy, although downside risks remain."

Narev said in a statement the bank is "cautiously positive about the outlook" for the current fiscal year.