Westpac NZ suffered a second-half margin squeeze

Acting chief executive Simon Power noted that Westpac's 10% growth in home loans. (Image: Supplied)

Tue, 02 Nov 2021

Usually, bank profit margins suffer when interest rates are falling and fatten when rates start rising, but Westpac New Zealand's margins have done the opposite.The bank's net interest margin climbed during the six months ended March, a time when interest rates were falling but were then squeezed in the six months ended September when interest rates had started rising again.Westpac's net interest margin (NIM) rose 17 basis points to 2.06% in the first half but then fell 12bp to 1.94% in the second half.Westpac's margin compressi...

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