BNZ earnings jump 17 per cent

BNZ's market share grew to 18.2 per cent over the past year, says its owner National Australia Bank. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times.

The Bank of New Zealand's cash earnings increased by 16.8 per cent to NZ$612 million in the 2010/11 financial year, its parent company, National Australia Bank (NAB), said today.

NAB said BNZ's performance reflected improved revenue through volume growth in variable rate housing products, re-pricing of the business lending portfolio to reflect current market conditions, and a lower bad and doubtful debts charge.

Mortgage lending volumes increased with market share higher at 16.2 per cent, NAB said.

"BNZ has maintained its focus on retail deposits to further strengthen the bank's balance sheet," NAB said.

Retail deposits grew by 9.9 per cent or NZ$2.8 billion and market share rose accordingly, to 18.2 per cent.

The charge for bad and doubtful debts decreased 19.3 per cent to NZ$151 million. This was largely driven by strong credit card collections, lower housing losses and an overall improvement in asset quality, NAB said.