Standard and Poor's improved the outlook on New Zealand's Credit Union Baywide's BB- credit rating to positive from stable because of a recent shift towards more mortgage lending to working families rather than consumer lending to riskier borrowers. S&P said lower interest rates and higher house prices had also improved the outlook for the mutually owned credit union based in the Hawkes Bay and Wairarapa in the southern half of the North Island. Growth-focused New Zealand regional bank SBS Bank reported a flat first half net profit of NZ$9.9 million despite a 21 per cent rise in lending to NZ$2.74 billion from a year ago. The Invercargill-based bank has launched into the hot Auckland mortgage lending market and ramped up its consumer lending under new chief executive Wayne Evans over the last two years. SBS reported that its costs rose 10.6 per cent in the six months to September 30 from the same half a year ago after it invested heavily in core systems and infrastructure. SBS's provisions for bad debts rose 24.8 per cent to NZ$6.2 million.