Westpac earnings disappoint, shares drop

SYDNEY: Westpac Banking Group, Australia’s No. 2 lender by market value, missed first-half profit forecasts and announced its smallest dividend rise in 6½ years, the latest sign of mounting challenges facing Australia’s highly profitable banks.

Australia’s biggest lenders emerged from the global financial crisis relatively unscathed, but are now facing tough decisions over how to tackle an over-reliance on mortgages and a more onerous capital regime in a slowing economy.