Bank of Queensland is cutting jobs as it streamlines operations following its expansions and acquisitions of the past three years.
Bank of Queensland reported a record annual profit of $318 million in 2015 after buying local assets from Investec and Virgin Money over the previous two years, but is now focused on stripping out duplication of roles among its 2200 staff.
The regional lender said on Tuesday it also wants to automate some of its manual systems as part of the $15 million structural review.
Chief executive Jon Sutton said the bank, which has enjoyed a boost from its return to the use of brokers after a 10-year break, needed to reduce costs in the face of strong competition and market volatility.
He did not say how many jobs could go.
"The uncertainty in the global economic outlook over recent months has resulted in a significant increase in volatility in funding markets," Mr Sutton said in a statement.
"While strong competition for new business remains, this creates headwinds for our margin outlook. The challenges of this market reinforce the need for us to be more nimble and efficient to ensure we can take advantage of opportunities as they arise."
BoQ said the cost of the review - which will be reflected in the FY16 cash earnings - would be entirely offset by savings within 12 months.
"We have redefined our strategy over the last 12 months and need to ensure our organisational structure continues to support this strategy," Mr Sutton said.
Bank of Queensland shares had dropped $1.03, or 8.12 per cent, to $11.66. That was against a backdrop of a broader 3.07 per cent decline among the S&P/ASX200 financials.
Analyst Ben Le Brun said investors may have been spooked by the bank highlighting the challenging market conditions given wider fears about global growth and an overnight selloff of financials on Wall Street.
"We knew about market volatility and we knew about the competition but, once that's verbalised by management, people start to draw some sort of conclusion in terms of what that could mean for guidance going forward," optionsXpress analyst Mr Le Brun said.
"The $15 million is not a game changer or a bank breaker, but it is another charge that potentially adds up to the bottom line."
Bank of Queensland will report its results for the six months ending February 29 on April 7.
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