NZ banks in strong shape

The strong showing saw NZ banks total profits for the sector rise to $1.36 billion, from $1 billion in the three months to September. 

The findings come as part of global advisory firm KPMG's latest Financial Institutions Performance Survey. 

John Kensington, head of banking at KPMG, said the improvement was mainly down to reduced or reversed impairment charges. He said banks' credit quality was "significantly better" than expected.

Lending rose by 1.78% over the quarter, according to the report, to $447 billion. A total of $9.6 billion in loans were written in the December quarter, 48% higher than the corresponding period in 2019, and 80% higher than the same period in 2018. 

All of the big banks covered by the survey noted an uptick in their lending book over the period. Kiwibank saw the biggest jump, recording an 11% increase. 

The figures support the strong results posted by Westpac NZ this week. The big four lender saw a 98% increase in the six months to March, earning $538 million. 

KPMG's Kensington said: "Despite the ending of the Government support packages, the banks are still reporting low levels of loan delinquencies. In fact, the financial resilience of most New Zealanders has been much stronger than predicted this time last year."