Commonwealth Bank Australia has reported a 12 per cent half-year profit dive to A$347 million at its wealth management business.

The wealth management business of Australia's Commonwealth Bank recorded a 12 per cent fall in cash profit after tax, down from A$396 million ($306 million) on 30 June 2014 to A$347 million at the end of last year. 

Mirroring a disappointing half year were the unit's full-year profits, which declined 12 per cent from A$393 million at the end of 2013. The interim results come as the wealth management part of the bank has been busy with damage control following a poor advice saga. To view more details on this matter, see here.

Though it did little to offset the business's profit plunge, funds under management grew by 11 per cent and 85 per cent of funds outperformed their three-year benchmarks.

The group as a whole, however, delivered stable profit growth of 8 per cent in the six months ending 31 December 2014, with cash net profit reaching A$4.62 billion. Meanwhile, the bank's core equity tier one ratio was 13.3 per cent.

“The strength of our business enables us to invest for the long term. In this period, we invested in innovation within the business, with highlights including the establishment of a 'group innovation lab', digital property settlement (PEXA) and the 'temporary lock' functionality,” said the group's chief executive, Ian Narev, in the results statement.