ANZ laments high house prices amid record lending and profits

ANZ NZ chief executive Antonia Watson says house prices are unsustainable. (Image: Getty)

Thu, 28 Oct 2021

ANZ Bank New Zealand lifted annual net profit 44% after writing back previous covid-related charges for bad debts and lending a record amount on mortgages.The bank's net profit for the year ended September rose to $1.92 billion from $1.34b the previous year, writing back $115 million of previous bad-debt charges compared with a $401m charge last year.Home lending increased by $9.3b to $99b, up from the $5.1b it lent on mortgages the previous year, but lending to businesses and farmers fell.And ANZ also fattened its profit margin by 20 basis...

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