BNZ 1H earnings flat as revenue gains offset by higher charges for bad debts

BNZ 1H earnings flat as revenue gains offset by higher charges for bad debts
By Paul McBeth May 9 (BusinessDesk) - Bank of New Zealand, the local unit of National Australia Bank, lifted first-half cash earnings 0.5 percent as revenue gains from housing and business lending were offset by a bigger charge on bad debts. Cash earnings from the New Zealand banking operations, which strip out wholesale operations, rose to $387 million in the six months ended March 31 from $385 million in the same period a year earlier, the Wellington-based lender said in a statement. BNZ banking group interest income gained 4.1 percent to...