BNZ's profit up 74%

A lot of this stemmed from the inclusion into the final result of expenditure set aside last year because of the Covid crisis.

But even ignoring this expenditure, statutory net profit increased by 12% to $1 billion, compared with the previous year.

BNZ's recently appointed chief executive Dan Huggins said the bank was aiming to help the business community through Covid.

“We were the leading lender under the Government backed Business Finance Guarantee Scheme and our own Good to Grow scheme supported businesses with nearly $300
million” he said.

“We cut merchant and contactless fees, which helped reduce costs for businesses, and our Direct Cash service has streamlined change orders.”

Huggins added BNZ helped 4,678 New Zealanders into their first home in the last year and helped 11,764 New Zealanders to renovate and invest in existing properties.
There were also 1,600 new home builds.

The full year report added loans to customers grew 7.5% and deposits and other borrowings rose 8.8%.

KiwiSaver funds under management rose 24% to $4.1 billion.