Westpac shares fall on ASX capital raising

Westpac shares are down nearly five per cent in early morning trading after they returned to the ASX.

The share price decline came after Westpac announced its profits slid 16 per cent over FY2019.

Shares slipped from $27.88 to $26.50 per share.

Prior to the market opening, Westpac announced at 8:00am their $2 billion capital raising, announced only yesterday, has been completed.

Some 79 million new fully paid ordinary shares have been issued at $25.32 per share

Westpac Group CEO Brian Hartzer said 2019 has been a disappointing year.

"Financial results are down significantly in a challenging, low-growth, low interest rate environment," he said, adding that 2020 will "continue to be challenging".

"However, we believe our service led strategy, disciplined growth and solid portfolio of businesses will deliver for shareholders and customers," Hartzer added.

Westpac's mortgage portfolio looked relatively healthy despite an uptick in arrears.

They continued to reduce their number of interest only loans, which now make up around a quarter of their loan book.

Their total home loan portfolio grew, albeit at a slow rate.