By Swati Pandey
SYDNEY, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX , the nation's No.2 lender, on Wednesday posted a record annual cash profit as demand for home loans fuelled a 3 percent rise in earnings although bad debt charges jumped led by a commodity slump.
Cash profit rose to A$9.45 billion, its seventh straight record, compared with A$9.14 billion a year ago. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid out, was up 7 percent at A$16.9 billion.
It unveiled a A$2.22 per share dividend, taking the full-year dividend to A$4.20, flat on the year before.
Australia's banks are preparing for slowing growth after years of record profits as a mining downturn leads to higher corporate bad debts and tougher capital requirements force up costs.
They have also come under political pressure to rein in more aggressive sales tactics and reform what many see as unethical corporate behaviour following a series of scandals including insurance fraud and interest rate rigging. CBA, we are cognizant of the combined impact of weaker demand, strong competition and increasing regulation," CEO Ian Narev said in a statement. "An ongoing focus on productivity and credit quality will be important. But we remain positive about Australia's economic prospects."
CBA said its net interest margins, a key gauge of profitability for banks, fell 2 basis points to 2.07 percent, reflecting stiff lending competition and rising deposit costs.
Loan impairment expense (LIE) increased 27 percent, largely due to higher provisioning for resource, commodity and dairy exposures, it added. The ratio of LIE to gross loans was 19 basis points, still near historically low levels.
CBA, which follows a June-ending calendar year, is the only one of the country's four major banks to report full-year earnings this month. Others report limited third-quarter trading updates.
On Tuesday, No.4 ANZ posted a small drop in nine-month cash profit but investors cheered the lender's commitment to shrink in Asia and refocus on the domestic market. lender National Australia Bank Ltd NAB.AX will report on Aug. 15.
The major banks have underperformed Australia's benchmark index .AXJO this year. CBA shares are down nearly 9 percent so far in 2016 compared with a 4.7 percent gain in the S&P/ASX200 index. On Tuesday, they ended down 1.6 percent at A$78.41 each.