SBS Bank lifts annual profit as residential and consumer lending increases

SBS Bank lifts annual profit as residential and consumer lending increases
Sophie Boot
By Sophie Boot June 23 (BusinessDesk) - SBS Bank, New Zealand's biggest building society, lifted annual profit 2.8 percent in 2016 as it worked to improve its presence in Auckland.  Net profit rose to $20 million in the year ended March 31, from $19.4 million a year earlier, the Invercargill-based company said in a statement.  Net interest income climbed 3.5 percent to $83.9 million, with its loan book expanding to $2.87 billion as at March 31 from $2.39 billion a year earlier. Of that, residential lending growth advanced 15 percent to...