Reuters
(Reuters) -Australian bank Westpac raised its share repurchase programme by A$1 billion ($661 million) and declared a special dividend on Monday citing a strong balance sheet, even as its first-half profit fell 16% on tight competition and high costs. Traditionally beneficiaries of rising interest rates, the country's so-called Big Four lenders have spent the past year sacrificing margins to write new home loans and paying more to depositors, narrowing their closely watched "net interest margin". Westpac's net interest margin slipped to 1.89%, down 7 basis points from a year earlier, while net interest income remained largely flat at A$9.13 billion.