IMB stuck in the slow lane

IMB Bank was not able to tap into the strong growth in home lending during the year to June, notching up only a small increase in loan approvals and an even smaller increase in its portfolio.

IMB made a net profit of A$32.5 million for the year to June - an increase of 11.8 per cent over the previous corresponding period. The result was boosted by the sale of the bank's head office building and, after adjusting for that one-off item, underlying profit of $29.6 million was 1.9 per cent above the previous year's result.

Net interest income rose 3.4 per cent to $98.3 million. The interest margin was an average of 2.04 per cent through the year but was down to 1.95 per cent at the end of June.

Impairment losses fell from $876,000 to $366,000.

Operating expenses rose 5.4 per cent to $69.6 million. The cost-to-income ratio was steady at 62.2 per cent.

Home loan approvals rose from $753 million in 2013/14 to $777 million in the year to June - an increase of just three per cent in a year when approvals were up by around 14 per cent.

Loans to members rose by 1.3 per cent to $3.7 billion, compared with system growth of 7.3 per cent. Deposits were up 7.5 per cent to $4 billion.

IMB Bank chief executive Robert Ryan said the bank's strategy was to focus on its digital platform. The bank now sells personal loans online and is working on an online facility for opening deposit accounts.