SBS deposits increase

SBS Bank said customer deposits grew by nearly $300 million, or more than 15 per cent, in the past 12 months since it became a bank.

The former Southland Building Society made a profit of $6.54 million after tax for the six months ended September 30, up from $5.36 million in the same period last year. The operating surplus of $9.65 million was little changed from $9.93 million last year. Total assets increased by $71.9 million to $2.61 billion and total lending by $58 million to $2.46 billion. Customer deposits totalled $2.23 billion.