sydneywestpac banking corp said its firsthalf net profit fell by 5 compared to the same time last year as competition weighed on both the lenders consumer and business units the australian bank said its net profit totaled 328 billion australian dollars us232 billion in the six months through march cash earningsa measure closely tracked by analysts that strips out noncore items such as revenue hedges and treasury sharesfell by 12 on year to a310 billion but when compared to the second half of 2021 cash earnings were up 71 cash earnings were higher over the previous half including a material reduction in notable items the decline in cash earnings over the year was mostly due to competitive pressures on net interest margins and returning to an impairment charge after having benefits last year said chief executive peter king directors of the company declared an interim dividend of a061 per share compared to a058 last year consensus forecasts compiled by visible alpha and cited by citi projected westpacs firsthalf cash earnings would be a28 billion with an interim dividend of a59 per share westpacs consumer units cash earnings fell by 15 on year to a165 billion which the lender said was mainly due to a lower net margin as competition led to more fixed rate lending and lower card and personal loan balances cash earnings at the lenders business unit fell by 55 to a239 million mainly due to a a265 million turnaround in impairment charges from a benefit to a charge and lower margins westpac said westpacs net interest marginthe difference between the interest income generated and the amount of interest paid outwas 191 down from 206 at the same time last year this the lender said was partly due to lower spreads on mortgages and business lending and a shift in its portfolio toward lower spread products particularly australian mortgage fixed rate lending australian bank nims have been under pressure amid the low interest rate environment which helped to drive a house price surge in australia this has spurred increased competition in the mortgage market between lenders while also seeing margins squeezed but with the reserve bank of australia last week raising its official cash rate to 035 from a recordlow 010 some analysts say the countrys major banks may get a margin boost mr king said that demand for housing has already shown some signs of easing and rising interest rates are expected to contribute to a moderation in house prices next year westpac expects the australian economy to expand by 45 in 2022 but slow to 25 in 2023 credit growth is forecast to be a strong 57 in 2022 slowing to 43 in 2023 westpacs common equity tier 1 capital ratioa key measure of a banks ability to withstand financial shockswas 113 this was lower than 123 reported at september 2021 the lender said this was mostly due to its a35 billion share buyback westpac reported that its costs were down 27 or 10 excluding notable items compared to the second half of 2021 this includes a reduction in headcount of more than 4000 as we track toward our target of an a8 billion cost base by fy 2024 said the lender