ANZ bank profit rises by $2.3bn

Bloomberg

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd’s (ANZ) first-half profit climbed as the lender wound back bad debt provisions made during the pandemic and the country’s economic recovery builds.
Cash earnings from continuous operations rose to A$3 billion ($2.3 billion) in the six months through March 31, compared with A$1.4 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to a statement on Wednesday. That narrowly missed the A$3.1 billion estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The Melbourne-based firm lifted its interim dividend to 70 Australian cents per share.
ANZ is the second of the nation’s four biggest banks to give an investor update this results season after Westpac Banking Corp said profit surged and reinstated an interim dividend that it was forced to cancel last year due to the pandemic. The country’s central bank upgraded its economic outlook for a recovery that’s helping to offset pressure on banks from the low interest rate environment.

“We are going to see an increase in strength in the economy here in Australia and in New Zealand,” Chief Executive Officer Shayne Elliott said in a Bloomberg TV interview from Melbourne. “The economy is firing well on so many cylinders.”