New Zealand's big four banks' profits have increased at three times the rate of the country's gross domestic profit (GDP) over the past 10 years.

According to the Reserve Bank, ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac made a combined $4.9 billion, after tax, in the year to December 31, 2017.

Ten years earlier, in what was described as a "boom time" for banks, when lending growth soared, they pulled in a combined $2.8b after tax.

That means their profits rose 75 per cent over the decade.

At the same time, New Zealand's GDP increased 23 per cent.

Claire Matthews, a banking expert at Massey University, said the bigger a bank got, the more money it could be expected to make.

Continue to the full article on BusinessToday   ||  May 09, 2018   |||