money

SYDNEY: Westpac Banking Corp., one of Australia's largest banks, said Tuesday its first quarter earnings grew by a third, as impairment charges dropped and the economy continued to bounce back from the global financial meltdown.

Unaudited cash profit was about 1.6 billion Australian dollars (US$1.4 billion) for the three months ended Dec. 31, the Sydney-based bank said in a statement. That's up from AU$1.2 billion in the same period a year ago.

CEO Gail Kelly said the boost in earnings was a result of reduced impairments and good momentum across all businesses.

"Although we remain cautious on the economic outlook, we believe that the worst of the crisis is now behind us and this is reflected in the significant fall in impairment charges," Kelly said in a statement.

"Consumer asset quality remains strong although we expect a small increase in delinquencies throughout the year."

The strong result follows rival Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd.'s announcement last week that it had posted a 54 percent rise in half-year cash profit to AU$2.9 billion on lower bad debts. - AP