Aussie banks rolling in cash, silent on rates

 　　SYDNEY, May 2 (Xinhua) --- The Australia New Zealand Bank (ANZ) has reported first-half underlying 1 profit of over 3 billion U.S. dollars, a result that stands in stark 2 contrast to its refusal to keep in step with the central bank's official rate movements this year.

　　Stomachs continue to turn for Australian borrowers as another leading bank has reported massive, record profits in the face of official interest rate cuts.
　　ANZ declared an interim 3 fully-franked dividend 4 of 66 Australian cents, up from 64 cents for the same time last year, including net profit making a full 10 percent leap from 2011 to 3.02 billion U.S. dollars.
　　The Federal Member for Melbourne, Adam Bandt says any failure now to pass on the interest rate cut by the "big four banks" is a dismissal of Australian consumers and a further loss of face for the Reserve bank which surprisingly cut the official rate by a full 50 basis points this week.
　　"Bank profits are soaring and will rise again this week, yet it is likely banks will continue to thumb their nose at the Reserve Bank decisions to cut rates," Bandt told Xinhua.
　　Bandt reinforced the overwhelming public sentiment here that the big four banks (ANZ, Westpac, Commonwealth 5 Bank and National Australia Bank) have no justification 6 for not cutting rates while their profits continue to soar.
　　The bank has been a pioneer for Australian lenders in Asia, with a particularly successful focus on China. There, improving results as well as fillips from ANZ's wide operations in Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific have balanced declining markets at home.
　　Bank bashing is an Australian tradition, however the powerful four lenders have broken an unspoken two-step with the Reserve bank on interest rates and have begun calculating their own margins 7.
　　The ANZ wrested 8 control of its own interest rates in January, with the other major banks following suits to the fury of Treasurer 9 Wayne Swan and the surprise of borrowers who are on uncertain ground as Australia struggles with the effects of a patchwork 10 economy.
　　ANZ CEO Mike Smith released a statement defending the ANZ's mountain of profits from what will certainly be a domestic public backlash by highlighting tightening 11 margins at home.
　　"Our financial performance (however) was subdued 12, significantly impacted by declining margins and the structural 13 shift that's occurred since the financial crisis with persistently 14 lower demand for credit," he said.
　　Economist 15 and market watcher, Stephen Bartholomeusz has been one of the few to defend the banks, insisting that there are genuine factors in the big four protecting their margins.
　　He said, "there is a fundamental justification for the banks increasing their rates slightly. They do have longer term pre- crisis borrowings continually maturing that have to be re-financed in the current market."
　　That may be slight comfort for local borrowers with ANZ's report expected to be the first of a domino effect of record earnings 16 by local banks this month.
　　If, as analysts 17 expect, the big four banks rack up a combined profit of over 12 billion U.S. dollars in the first-half, while concurrently 18 raising rates as the central bank slashes 19 downward, there will be more than just grumblings from an alienated 20 public and a government treasury 21 desperate to pass on savings 22 to voters.