Loans in default but not impaired continue their steady rise at National Australia Bank.

Delinquent loans reached 1.23 per cent at December 2024, up from 0.97 per cent a year earlier, the bank’s trading update for the first quarter shows.

Cash earnings at NAB were 2 per cent lower compared with the quarterly averageof the second half of FY2024, “mainly reflecting underlying profit growth of 4 per cent offset by higher credit impairment charges and income tax expense” the bank said. NAB said it experienced “a small decline in net interest margin with drags from funding costs, lending competition and deposits, partially offset by benefits of a higher interest rate environment” but did not detail its NIM for the quarter.

Expenses rose 2 per cent “mainly reflecting higher personnel and financial crime-related costs, along with increased technology spend, partly offset by productivity benefits and lower costs relating to the Group's Enforceable Undertaking with AUSTRAC.”