Westpac Banking Corp chief executive Gail Kelly says the bank's commercial and corporate customers are still facing financial distress as a result of the economic downturn.
''We can see with our commercial and corporate customers financial distress and operating distress still making its way through the businesses of our customers,'' Mrs Kelly told a business lunch in Sydney.
She said it was encouraging to see signs that the economic downturn was easing in Australia, although some hurdles such as rising unemployment lay ahead.
''It's good to see the Australian economy appears to be more positive from a growth point of view,'' she said.
''It does appear that the economic downturn is likely to be less severe and less protracted than what was said when we talked about the situation in February and in March''
Mrs Kelly said she was cautiously optimistic and that the bank was forecasting unemployment - currently at 5.8 per cent - to rise to 7.5 per cent by the end of calendar 2009 and to eight per cent in 2010.
''There's several factors that could still puncture growth,'' she noted.
AAP
