SYDNEY, May 9 (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country's No. 2 lender, posted third-quarter cash profit of A$2.3 billion ($1.70 billion), on track for an annual record, but charges jumped because of soured loans tied to a mining downturn.
Australia's biggest mortgage lender saw a loan impairment expense of A$427 million, or 25 basis points of total loans, it said on Monday in a limited trading update without giving year-ago comparisons or further details.
The ratio was 17 basis points at the end of December.
CBA's results followed downbeat earnings from the other three major banks last week. Australia's four biggest banks doubled annual profits over the past five years but posted a 3 percent drop in combined first-half cash profit from a year ago, ending a run of six years of record earnings. = 1.3563 Australian dollars)