ANZ New Zealand has posted a $1.238 billion half-year cash net profit after tax for the six months to March 31.
The results were up 2% on the six-months recorded to September 30, which was $1.208 million.
The bank's statutory net profit after tax was a flat $1.259 billion, and it held a total credit impairment provision balance of $805 million.
The bank's half-year performance was shaped by a lift in economic activity, it said, which included a 2% increase in net loans and advances, and customer deposits, which grew by 4%.
Revenue had been constrained by ongoing margin pressure, which saw a net interest margin decline by five basis points.
ANZ Bank New Zealand chief executive officer Antonia Watson said the result came at a time of heightened global uncertainty, and prior to the war in Iran, the country was in the "early stages of an economic recovery".
“Events in the Middle East are a reminder of how quickly global shocks can ripple through our economy and undermine what remains a fragile recovery.
“The economic outlook remains uncertain, and our focus is on maintaining the strength of the bank and supporting customers and the wider economy as challenges emerge.”
Watson said customers across households and businesses had entered this period of uncertainty in a "more resilient position".
She said through the recent interest rate cycle, many home loan customers had refixed at lower rates to keep their payments the same, or had increased them, to pay off their loan faster.
"More than 44% of home loan customers are ahead on repayments by six months or more and 48% hold a savings buffer of at least $5000."
ANZ NZ said it had supported $15 billion in new home loan lending for the six-months ending March 21, and helped over 4800 first home buyers into a home.
Last month, ANZ NZ, along with other major banks, increased its home loan interest rates.
It followed an update to the bank's official cash rate forecast, where ANZ NZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said she now expected the OCR could rise three times this year, starting as soon as July.
Today, the bank added although the wider rural sector being was buoyed by the higher commodities and the recent Fonterra capital return, higher fuel, fertiliser and freight costs, together with ongoing supply uncertainty, were weighing on rural communities, and were expected to influence investment and growth decisions.
"Current geopolitical headwinds may curtail momentum in the second half of the year," Watson said.
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including a man’s arrested after the abduction and death of a young girl in Australia, and new road safety warnings amid a spike in deaths. (Source: 1News)
SHARE ME