BNZ profit rises 10 per cent to $1 billion
Bank of New Zealand has reported a profit of $1.029 billion for the 2018 financial year, an increase of almost
10 per cent on the previous year. Total operating revenue increased
6.2 per cent to $2.5b, due to strong growth in lending to businesses and homeowners, combined with growth in customer deposits.
Chief executive Angie Mentis said: ‘‘BNZ has been supporting the ambitions of our business customers to invest in their enterprises, with $8.3b in new lending in FY18.
‘‘In the past year we also helped more than 14,000 New Zealanders realise their home ownership goals.’’
Mortgage lending increased by 6.4 per cent to $39.8b. BNZ chief financial officer Peter MacGillivray said the housing market had stabilised to a more sustainable level over the past 12 months.
‘‘The Reserve Bank has done a good job with loan-to-value restrictions of slowing growth.’’
There have been suggestions those restrictions could be eased further before long, but MacGillivray said the bank was comfortable with the current settings.
Mentis said that, apart from Auckland and Canterbury, much of the country’s housing market was still experiencing strong growth. MacGillivray said they expected those conditions to persist for the time being.
BNZ will set aside $10b for lending to businesses outside Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch over the next five years.
Mentis said that sum was more than it had committed in the past. ‘‘It’s important we support New Zealand businesses wherever they are based.’’
BNZ is also testing ways to deliver personalised banking to more people across New Zealand. This will be in addition to the bank’s 153 branches. ‘‘While we trial these initiatives over the next year, there’ll be no changes to our branch network,’’ Mentis said.
BNZ is about to commission its first mobile branch, expected to be on the road early in 2019.
Mentis said personal banking customers now most often interacted with the bank online and outside normal business hours.
A third of business customers were using banking outside business hours and there needed to be strong support for them, she said.
This year’s profit is not a record for BNZ but Mentis said the large bank profits that have been reported in recent years were a sign of customers’ success, too. ‘‘If customers are successful and achieving their goals and aspirations then we are successful. It starts with the customer.’’