ANZ BANK MAKES RECORD AS2.66 BIL FIRST-HALF PROFIT

MELBOURNE, May 3 (Bernama) -- ANZ Banking Group Ltd, which has a stake in Malaysia's AMBank Group, has increased first-half profit by 38 per cent to a record as the bank raises market share.

Net profit rose to A$2.664 billion for the six months to March 31 from A$1.925 billion a year earlier, Melbourne-based ANZ said in a statement Tuesday.

Underlying profit increased 23 per cent to A$2.818 billion.

ANZ beat consensus estimates for its underlying earnings but its performance was lower than the market expectations on its statutory profit, interim dividend and return on equity.

Shares in ANZ fell A30 cents or 1.23 percent to A$24. The stock was traded between A$20 and A$26 since the end of August 2009, the Australian Associated Press said.

ANZ chief executive Mike Smith said he hoped Australia's central bank would keep the overnight cash rate steady for the remainder of this year.

He said inflationary pressures, especially the recent food price spike, was a blip but the Australian economy was now moving at multi-speeds.

"There is a lot of heat in the resources side of the economy, but consumers and households are doing it tougher," Smith told a media briefing.

He said there was a danger that more rate rises could stall the economy.

Smith said the result for ANZ's Asia-Pacific, Europe and Americas' division was a "standout in US dollar terms" but the result was dragged down two per cent by the appreciating Australian dollar.

Smith said Australia's economy was now entering a "new normal" phase and the impact of the global financial crisis had largely washed through.

"But we are now seeing the final stages of pain," he said.

Overall lending growth in Australia would be lower despite ANZ seeing a pick up in corporate lending demand.

Smith said while the housing market was not in a bubble, housing
affordability was still a concern.