NAB interim cash profit falls; bad debts to rise

National Australia Bank, the country’s top lender by assets, said cash earnings fell 7.9 per cent in its fiscal second half, the first fall in three years, with rising bad debt charges highlighting the biggest threat to Australian banks’ profit growth.

NAB, which had suggested earlier this month its annual profit would be largely in line with the previous year, said full-year bad debt provisions rose 44 per cent to A$2.6 billion, hurt by its loss-making UK unit and the cooling Australian economy.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/1073779/nab-interim-cash-profit-falls-bad-debts-rise