Australia and New Zealand Banking Group said on Friday the credit environment was improving after reporting a 31-percent rise in first-quarter unaudited cash profit due to a strong performance from its core lending business in Australia and New Zealand.
Australia's No. 3 lender by market value said unaudited cash profit stood at A$2 billion for the quarter ended December 31, but its net interest margin declined by "several basis points" due to lower earnings on capital and higher funding costs.
Rival Commonwealth Bank of Australia on Wednesday reported a slight decline in its net interest margin while National Australia Bank last week said its margin had been "broadly stable."
Australian bank returns have been under pressure from higher wholesale funding and deposit costs, as well as regulatory changes requiring them to hold more capital against their mortgage books to provide a more level playing field for smaller banks.
Adjusted to remove the impact of certain one-off items, such as impairment and restructuring charges, ANZ's first-quarter unaudited cash profit rose 20 percent.
"Our key customer businesses delivered good outcomes," ANZ Chief Executive Shayne Elliott said in a statement. "Highlights include market share gains in customer deposits and Australian home lending, and further gains in new-to-bank customers driven by the success of ApplePay and AndroidPay."
Gross impaired assets rose by 1.8 percent during the quarter. Elliott said the outlook on provisions was more positive than it had been at the time ANZ's results for the 12 months ended September 30 were released in November, because the credit environment was "marginally better" than it had expected at the time.
ANZ, based in Melbourne, has been slimming down its portfolio through asset sales, including its retail and wealth operations in Asia and a New Zealand-based asset finance firm, UDC.
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