NZ bank profits fall in first quarter as minnows chase market share over margin

NZ bank profits fall in first quarter as minnows chase market share over margin
Paul McBeth
By Paul McBeth July 12 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand bank profits shrank in the first three months of the year as smaller lenders chased market share at the expense of margin. Net profit slipped 2.9 percent to $1.2 billion in the three months ended March 31 for the country's licensed banks, with five of the nine lenders surveyed reporting smaller earnings, KPMG's quarterly financial institutions performance survey (FIPS) showed. Net interest income shrank 3 percent to $69.03 billion and net interest margin shrank 9 basis points in the quar...