The bank also announces a $300,000-plus donation to cyclone relief
Kiwibank has reported a net profit after tax of $98 million for the six months to December – that’s up 53% on the same period the previous year.
Kiwibank CEO Steve Jurkovich said the bank’s strong first half reflected the resilience of the New Zealand economy during the period. He expected higher interest rates, rising inflation, and the recent wild weather events in the North Island to significantly impact the second-half results.
To support customers who have been impacted by the recent weather events, Jurkovich said the NZ-owned bank would make an initial donation of $250,000 to the recovery effort. This was in addition to the local support it had already provided through the donation of generators to isolated communities.
“We continue to encourage customers to contact us if they need to discuss their situation, and we’re contacting customers directly who we think may need support,” Jurkovich said. “The exact support we can offer will depend on personal circumstances but could include reducing repayments to the minimum regular amount, restructuring the loan, extending the loan term or temporary interest-only repayments.”
So far, Kiwibank said there has been no significant uplift in home lending defaults within normal seasonal levels. That could change over the following period, however, and had already been reflected in the bank’s provisioning.
Kiwibank also reported growing its share of the home loan market.
The bank’s home lending book grew by $0.6bn during the first half, partly due to expanding the loans offered through mortgage brokers, Jurkovich said.
The bank also continued to be the fastest-growing major bank in business lending, with lending growth of $0.5bn for the half.
While business lending had returned to pre-COVID levels as confidence returned, Jurkovich said the bank was taking action to support customers during this latest downturn.
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