Chief executive Barbara Chapman said cash profit was up 9% to $429 million for the six months to December 31.
She said it has been achieved despite there being a very competitive pricing environment, particularly in the home loan market.
ASB has seen its market share in the residential home loan slip as the bank wasn’t prepared to match some of the deals being put into the market.
“We have been prepared to sacrifice a bit of our market share.”
She some loans were being written by other banks on very fine margins and customers were being given large amounts of cash.
ASB has also been losing market share in the mortgage adviser market where it competes against ANZ and Westpac. ANZ is offering advisers additional upfront commission on home loans while Westpac last year reintroduced trail commission payments to advisers.
Chapman said ASB was “comfortable with what is doing in that area”.
The bank was “keeping an eye” on developments but had no immediate plans for change.
She said advisers need to be “doing the right thing for their customers.”
“Many of them do.”
ASB has also been building up capability in the commercial, business and corporate markets, and its lending growth in this area was twice that of the market overall.
