National Australia Bank Q3 cash profit climbs 5%

[SYDNEY] National Australia Bank on Friday said its third-quarter cash profit rose 5 per cent, helped by credit growth as well as a fall in bad debt expenses.

NAB's unaudited cash profit was A$1.7 billion (S$1.83 billion) in the three months to June 30, according to a trading update, compared with A$1.6 billion a year ago. Bad and doubtful debt charges fell 12 per cent to A$173 million.

The company said its revenue for the quarter inched up 2 per cent. Net interest margins rose, aided by lower funding costs.

Its Common Equity Tier-1 ratio was 9.7 per cent at the end of June, compared with 10.1 per cent in March.

NAB said it was well placed to respond to new capital benchmarks, following a requirement by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority for the "Big Four" banks to have Tier 1 capital ratios of 10.5 per cent by 2020.

The Big Four - Commonwealth Bank, Westpac Banking Corp, ANZ Banking Group and NAB - hold combined market share of more than 80 per cent and authorities are concerned that any failure could fatally weaken the broader economy.

Earlier this week, larger rival CBA reported a 4.6 per cent rise in its full-year net profit.

REUTERS