Commonwealth Bank posts record $4.9b first-half profit, raises investor loan rates
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Australia's biggest lender, Commonwealth Bank, has unveiled a record first-half profit of $4.9 billion.
The result was up 6 per cent on the previous record reported in the first half of last year.
The underlying cash profit, the bank's preferred measure which strips out one-off items, was up 2 per cent to $4.9 billion, just ahead of market expectations.
CBA used the result presentation to announce another out-of-cycle increase to the cost of investor home loans.
Standard variable investor home loans will rise by 12 basis points — or about half an RBA move — to 5.68 per cent from April 3.
The bank will also raise its Viridian Line of Credit product by 4 basis points.
"As the nation's largest lender, Commonwealth Bank is committed to meeting its regulatory requirements while ensuring it can provide for the long-term sustainability of the Australian housing market," CBA said in a statement to the ASX.
The increases are the latest in a number of moves CBA — and its subsidiary Bankwest — have recently taken to slow speculative property lending and stay under the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's 10 per cent annual speed limit for investor loan growth.
The interim dividend inched up 1 cent to $1.99 per share.
More to come.
Topics: banking, industry, business-economics-and-finance, australia
