By Gareth Vaughan
Having not paid its Australian parent a dividend since 2009, Westpac New Zealand has now paid two, worth a combined NZ$480 million, in seven months.
Westpac NZ's General Disclosure Statement (GDS) for the six months to March 31, out late yesterday, notes the bank paid its parent a NZ$250 million dividend on May 30. That comes after a NZ$230 million dividend in late October, although that one came at the same time the Australian parent group sank NZ$1.13 billion into its New Zealand subsidiary through a share purchase. The equity injection came to help Westpac NZ fund the transfer of more than NZ$6 billion worth of assets and over NZ$5 billion of liabilities from its parent to bring the New Zealand unit into line with Reserve Bank rules. See more on this here.
Prior to the recent dividends, Westpac NZ last paid a dividend to the Westpac Group, of NZ$220 million, in the year to September 2009.
Westpac is the last of the big four Australian owned banks to release a GDS covering the March quarter. It shows the bank's lending growth in the three months to March 31 outstripped that of its major rivals, with gross loans rising NZ$633 million to NZ$58.884 billion.
ANZ, which paid a NZ$400 million dividend on April 27 compared with NZ$492 million worth of dividends in the whole financial year to September 2011, grew gross loans by NZ$341 million. ASB, which paid dividends worth NZ$500 million in the nine months to March 31 compared with just NZ$80 million in the same period of the previous year, grew total advances to customers by NZ$289 million. BNZ, which paid no dividend, grew gross loans by NZ$395 million in the quarter.
The bulk of Westpac's March quarter lending growth came through housing loans, which rose by NZ$462 million to NZ$35.570 billion. Business and farming lending increased by just NZ$35 million.
In contrast, Westpac was the only one of the big four banks to see deposits fall in the March quarter, with total deposits down NZ$320 million to NZ$40.836 billion as term deposits fell NZ$191 million to NZ$20.944 billion. ANZ, ASB, and BNZ all grew deposits by at least twice as much as lending.
Westpac's total assets rose NZ$761 million to NZ$67.885 billion, total liabilities rose by NZ$634 million to NZ$62.134 billion, and total equity increased NZ$127 million to NZ$5.751 billion.
Assets at least 90 days past due fell NZ$50 million to NZ$226 million, and total impaired assets dropped NZ$12 million to NZ$897 million.
Westpac's tier one capital ratio, representing shareholder's equity, rose to 11.7% from 11.1%, and its total capital ratio rose to 13.7% from 13.6%. The Reserve Bank mandated minimums are 6% and 8%, respectively.
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1 Comments
Westpac's total assets rose NZ$761 million to NZ$67.885 billion, total liabilities rose by NZ$634 million to NZ$62.134 billion, and total equity increased NZ$127 million to NZ$5.751 billion
Assets at least 90 days past due fell NZ$50 million to NZ$226 million, and total impaired assets dropped NZ$12 million to NZ$897 million.
Having not paid its Australian parent a dividend since 2009, Westpac New Zealand has now paid two, worth a combined NZ$480 million, in seven months.
Is this a case of the Aussie parent version of TAKE HE MONEY AND RUN, given the relatively high ratio of impaired assets to total equity?
Or am I just one of those conservative guys who sees demons where one shouldn't?
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