BNZ earnings outperform on widening interest margins

BNZ earnings outperform on widening interest margins
Paul McBeth
By Paul McBeth Nov. 1 (BusinessDesk) - Bank of New Zealand's annual earnings stood out for National Australia Bank as local mortgage lending growth with fatter margins more than made up for higher spending on its digitisation programme.  Net profit climbed 9.8 percent to $1.03 billion in the 12 months ended Sept. 30 as the local lender boosted net interest income 8.5 percent to $1.95 billion. That was enough to outweigh a 12 percent rise in operating costs to $1.05 billion as BNZ continued to invest heavily in its digital platforms to get...