Increased staff costs - a function of an overload of priority risk and compliance programs and customer remediation programs - chewed into the profit of Commonwealth Bank over the September 2019 quarter.Operating expenses - "reported", to use the bank jargon - fell nine per cent in the most recent quarter from the second half average (given the whopping compo payments by the bank earlier in the year). Excluding notable items cost increased 2 per cent.Of A$2.2 billion in "total program spend and provisions" on remediation, $600 million has been paid to customers.Remediation relating to salaried advisers "is now complete" the bank said.Statutory net profit was "approximately $3.8 billion" over the quarter, including a gain of $1.5 billion from the sale of the wealth business to MUFG.The "cash net profit from continuing operations" was approximately $2.26 billion, which the bank said was up five per cent, "excluding notable items."The net interest margin was lower - by how much the bank did not say - and "a low interest rate environment will continue to impact margins in future periods."