Westpac NZ has bucked the trend of the big Australian-owned banks posting surging profit rises, reporting a fall in half-year net profit.
In the six months to March 31, it posted a net profit of $426 million.
That is down 19% in the previous six-month period, and a fall of 33% when comparing it to the same period last year when the bank's net profit was $640m.
Last year's profit was swelled by the sale of life insurance arm Westpac Life.
The bank had also been hit by needing to put aside more money for bad loans.
Chief executive Catherine McGrath said the bank had grown mortgage lending by 5%, business lending by 4% and deposits by 2%.
“We’re in a stable and well-capitalised position and are well-placed to support our customers.”
It was wary of a predicted deteriorating economic outlook.
"Our economists are forecasting a recession this year. The global outlook remains uncertain and funding markets are moving around. In addition, inflation and consumer spending remain high, increasing the risks of a hard landing.
"The rising cost of living has squeezed households and interest rates have risen quickly. While we are not currently seeing significant numbers of customers requiring hardship assistance, demand is slowly increasing, and we expect it to rise further as the outlook worsens."
Last week, BNZ reported a half-year net profit of $805m on the same period last year - up 13.5% - while ANZ's was $1.1b - up 14%.
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