Bank of New Zealand’s net interest margins were flat at 2.37% for the six months to March 31, with the New Zealand arm of the National Australia Bank showing significant home-lending growth compared to its peers.
That compared with 1.7% net interest margins (NIMs) in the Australian operation, mirroring Westpac’s half-year result earlier this week in which NIMs in New Zealand were significantly higher than the bank was achieving in Australia.
The New Zealand unit reported a statutory net profit increase of 4.3% on the same period a year earlier, at $795 million.
The result included a $27m writeback of previously impaired loans, reflecting what BNZ chief executive Dan Huggins described as improving signs for the New Zealand economy.
“The economy appears to be at a turning point,” Huggins said in a statement.
