ANZ Bank to see margin pressure over the next year

Sizeable profit: People cross the street in front of the ANZ Bank in Lambton Quay, Wellington. One of Australia’s main four banks, ANZ trumpets growth rather than profitability. — Reuters

WELLINGTON: Australia New Zealand Group Holdings Ltd’s (ANZ) first-half profit met analyst expectations as margin pressure offset a move to claw back a larger chunk of the mortgage market.

Cash profit came in at A$3.82bil (US$2.56bil or RM11.4bil) in the six months to March 31, it said in a statement last Friday. That was in line with forecasts of A$3.81bil (RM11.4bil) from a Bloomberg survey of analysts.