(Reuters) -Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp recorded a marginal 1% drop in its first-half net profit on Monday, as a rise in operating costs due to technology investments offset growth in total loans.
Westpac recorded growth in home, business and institutional lending volumes, but its operating expenses rose nearly 6% to A$5.70 billion, driven by costs tied to its UNITE simplification program.
The bank’s net interest margin – the difference between interest earned from lending and paid for deposits – fell one basis point from last year to 1.88%, due to persistent competition in lending and term deposits.
Core net interest margin stood at 1.8%, narrowing by three basis points due to tighter loan spreads from increased lending competition and a shift toward lower-margin savings accounts and narrower deposit spreads.
The country’s second-largest mortgage lender said its net profit after tax was A$3.32 billion ($2.14 billion) for the six months ended March 31, compared with A$3.34 billion reported a year earlier.
That missed Visible Alpha consensus estimate of A$3.43 billion.
Westpac also declared an interim dividend of 76 Australian cents, higher than 75 Australian cents declared a year earlier.
($1 = 1.5513 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Roshan Thomas and Shivangi Lahiri in BengaluruEditing by Marguerita Choy and Rod Nickel)
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