Kiwibank first-half profit falls 10 percent on tight margins, capital spend

Kiwibank first-half profit falls 10 percent on tight margins, capital spend
Feb 24 (BusinessDesk) – Kiwibank, the biggest profit generator for state-owned parent New Zealand Post, said first-half profit fell 10 percent because of a squeeze on lending margins and infrastructure spending. Profit fell to $52 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, from a record $58 million in the same period a year earlier, the Wellington based lender said in a statement. Total lending rose 5.7 percent to $14 billion while customer deposits increased 2.4 percent to $12.4 billion. Deposits account for 81.7 percent of the bank’s funding,...