ANZ Bank half year profit up 38% to $2.9bn

The result failed to beat analysts’ forecasts despite Australia’s resilience amid global economic downturn.

Australia's ANZ Banking Group Ltd. has posted a 38 percent rise in first half profit to 2.7 billion Australian dollars ($2.9 billion), and says the impact of the global financial crisis has largely passed.

But the rise is less than the market had expected and shares fell more than 1.7 percent in early trading after the news on Tuesday.

Australia's banking sector prove to be resilient during the economic downturn while the national economy avoided recession largely due to continuing Chinese demand for raw materials including iron ore, coal and gas.

View the full story in Business Week.