(4 June 2012 – New Zealand) The Taranaki community will benefit from a 10 percent increase in TSB Bank’s net profit before tax in the year to 31 March.Taranaki’s TSB Bank reported a net profit before tax of NZ$66.5 million (A$51.7 million) for the year, a 10.29 percent increase from the previous year.
This result sees a dividend of NZ$10 million paid to the TSB Community Trust for distribution to Taranaki groups and organisations, a NZ$1 million increase on last year’s donation allocation.
TSB Bank chief Kevin Murphy said the 12-month performance was pleasing considering the current economic climate.
‘It’s been a solid year’s performance in a difficult economic environment,’ Murphy said.
TSB Bank board of directors chairwoman Elaine Gill said even though performance was tracked throughout the year, achieving a net profit before tax of more than 10 percent was a pleasant surprise.
‘We got a better result than we expected,’ Gill said.
The increase in profit came down to prudent financial management within the bank, she said.
The bank’s loan portfolio also increased by NZ$114 million or 4.34 percent to NZ$2.7 billion – a commendable result during a period where many customers were focused on deleveraging, Murphy said.
Depositors’ funds also increased by NZ$273 million or 6.15 percent to a record NZ$4.7 billion.
Last year also saw TSB Bank launch an interactive online banking application which allows customers to personalise the way their accounts look.
With banking becoming more technology driven TSB Bank wanted to ensure it was at the leading edge of mobile banking applications, Murphy said.