Australian & New Zealand Banking Group’s local unit lifted first-half profit 7 percent as it grew its loan book and booked smaller charges on bad loans. Net profit rose to $655 million in the six months ended March 31 from $615 million a year earlier, ANZ New Zealand said in a statement. Cash profit, which excludes unrealised movements in financial …

The Serious Fraud Office won’t lay charges against any of Hanover Finance’s directors or owners including Mark Hotchin and Eric Watson, saying it’s exhausted all avenues of investigation and found nothing to meet its threshold to pursue a prosecution. Acting chief executive Simon McArley said there were serious questions over Hanover’s behaviour, including how it disclosed its financial position to …

Auckland International Airport, the country’s main gateway, isn’t profiteering and is a expecting reasonable return over the coming four years, according to the antitrust regulator. The airport has an expected annual return of 8 percent over the 2013-2017 pricing period, at the top end of the Commerce Commission’s estimated range for a reasonable return of between 7.1 percent and 8 …