National Australia Bank profit drops 0.9 per cent

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: National Australia Bank, the country's largest lender by assets, has reported a 0.9 percent decline in net profit in the year to September compared to a year earlier.

Reporting its full-year earnings, the bank said in a statement its net profit for 2008 was $3.1 billion (4.5 billion Australian dollars). Cash earnings fell 10.7 percent to $2.7 billion (3.9 billion Australian dollars).

The bank said its bad debt charges rose 55 percent in the period. Chief executive John Stewart said the turmoil on financial markets had caused assets to soften, but that bank group was ``well placed to weather this uncertain environment.''