Australia's four major banks have logged record profits for years, but have been hit by a series of scandals, forcing the government to order a year-long inquiry into the sector.
BENGALURU: National Australia Bank Ltd, the country’s No. 4 lender by market value, on Thursday reported a 3 percent rise in first-quarter unaudited cash profit after bad and doubtful debt charges declined.
NAB posted unaudited cash earnings of A$1.65 billion ($1.29 billion) for the three months ended Dec. 31, in line with a Morgan Stanley estimate of about A$1.7 billion.
Australia's four major banks have logged record profits for years, but have been hit by a series of scandals, forcing the government to order a year-long inquiry into the sector.
Bad and doubtful debt charges fell 23 percent to A$160 million for the period, the bank said in a statement.
“We are on track to deliver the targets announced with the FY17 results, including an estimated $1.5 billion increase in investment by the end of FY20. Cost savings of more than $1 billion continue to be targeted by end FY20,” NAB Chief Executive Officer Andrew Thorburn said in a statement.
The bank said first quarter operating expenses rose 4 percent in part due to higher investment spending, while revenue edged up 1 percent.
NAB’s common equity tier-1 ratio rose to 10.2 percent at Dec. 31 from 10.06 percent on Sept. 30. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority said last year that the "Big Four" banks were required to raise their Tier 1 capital ratios to 10.5 percent by 2020.
Net interest margin declined during the period, but was broadly stable after excluding the impact from Markets and Treasury, the bank added. - Reuters
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