CORRECT: ANZ Bank lifts NZ earnings in first half as mortgage lending rises 5%

CORRECT: ANZ Bank lifts NZ earnings in first half as mortgage lending rises 5%
Sophie Boot
(Fixes statutory profit and percentage move in second paragraph) By Sophie Boot May 1 (BusinessDesk) - ANZ Bank New Zealand, the local unit of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, lifted first-half earnings 1 percent as mortgage lending continued to grow. Cash profit, the preferred earnings measure for the Australian-owned banks, rose to $941 million in the six months ended March 31 from $928 million a year earlier, the Auckland-based lender said in a statement. Statutory profit rose 11 percent to $964 million, as revenue rose 3 perc...