BNZ (National Australia Bank's Kiwi subsidiary) outperformed its Aussie parent, thanks to growth in mortgage lending with fatter margins. BNZ's profit rose 9.8 per cent to NZ$1.03 billion in the year ended September 30. This is despite a large spend on its digitisation program which was behind a 12 per cent rise in operating costs. The latest profit announcements by the Big Four banks' Kiwi subsidiaries have sparked renewed anger across the Tasman, with accusations that the banks are using New Zealand as "a very profitable branch office". Sam Stubbs, managing director of Simplicity non-profit KiwiSaver scheme, told Newshub's AM Show that Kiwi ANZ customers pay much higher fees than those in Australia and "you can almost hear the sucking sound of New Zealanders' wealth going back to Australia". ASB has partnered with decentralised ID platform VerifyUnion to launch New Zealand's first bank blockchain single trade window. Finextra reports that, shadowing a trade from a Kiwi meat exporter to its Korean customer, ASB was able to digitally transfer documentation and cash within one hour.