(Reuters) -ANZ Group announced a new A$2 billion ($1.32 billion) share buyback on Tuesday despite reporting a 7% slump in first-half cash earnings due to intense competition in Australia's mortgage lending market coupled with higher operating expenses.
Profit for Melbourne-listed lender's retail division, one of the biggest profit generators for ANZ, plunged 25% during the first half to A$794 million as high-interest rates and a competitive home loan market weighed it down.
ANZ is the latest Australian bank to announce a share buyback. Larger rivals National Australia Bank and Westpac announced their own share buybacks earlier this month.
"Our strong balance sheet position today, the board felt comfortable with announcing an A$2 billion on-market share buyback," ANZ Chief Financial Officer Farhan Faruqui said.
"We also continued to further simplify the bank, including completing the partial sale of our stake in Malaysia's AmBank, releasing A$668 million in capital," ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott said, referring to the factors contributing to the buyback.