Any improvement in economic activity in 2014 will be gradual, Commonwealth Bank says.
In a letter sent to shareholders, the country's largest home lender said it remained cautiously optimistic about the economic environment.
Volatility in global markets was supressing business confidence, which so far had resulted in no meaningful rise in investment in non-mining sectors of the economy, chief executive Ian Narev said on Thursday.
But consumer spending rose over the summer holidays, corporate balance sheets remained strong and growth forecasts for developing economies had improved, he said.
"So, all in all, we continue to assume that any improvements in economic activity in the next year will be gradual rather than dramatic," Mr Narev said.
CBA made a cash profit of $4.3 billion in the first half of the 2013/14 financial year, up 14 per cent from the same period a year earlier.
