A major bank recorded a cash profit of $1.73bn in the final quarter of 2013, spurred on by solid lending book growth.
ANZ announced the unaudited profits this morning, which the bank says are up 13% on the same period last year.
Continued growth in the bank’s Australian lending division has helped fuel profits, said CEO Mike Smith, with the bank recording above system growth for the past 16 quarters.
“ANZ’s distinctive strategy based on growth in our domestic franchises, growth in Asia and strong operational and productivity disciplines is continuing to deliver a consistent improvement in business growth and financial performance,” said Smith.
“ANZ’s business strategy has also led to ongoing improvements in the quality of our lending book. Together with the outlook for continued low interest rates and low levels of corporate leverage we now expect the total FY14 provision charge is likely to be around 10% lower than FY13.”
Productivity gains and increased sales in the bank’s global wealth division, as well as strong demand in the sub-80% LVR loan division in New Zealand have also helped fuel growth.
“The bottom line is that we have made a good start in 2014,” said Smith.
“There remain a number of challenging issues in the global economic environment however these are now largely more predictable. Our performance in the first quarter means we are on track to deliver a solid 2014.”
