Welcome to Today in Business - Powered by Spark for Business, an experimental AI podcast by the New Zealand Herald. Each weekday, we bring you five stories, the best of the New Zealand Herald business journalism, summarised and delivered by an AI voice as an easily digestible recap. It's Wednesday, August 13, 2025, and here are five stories you should know about. ASB's net profit after tax fell 0.4% to $1.45 billion in the year to June, as operating expenses rose 10% from wage inflation and a 13% staffing increase of 768 employees. The bank set aside A$33 million for potential customer remediation, unrelated to an ongoing class action over past disclosure breaches involving ASB and ANZ. Net interest income rose 5%, mortgage lending grew 7%, business and rural lending 2%, and deposits 3%. Net interest margin increased to 2.27%. CEO Vittoria Shortt says the staffing boost supports technology upgrades, fraud prevention, and crime risk management, reflecting a long-term investment strategy. In other news, an independent review finds SkyCity Adelaide historically prioritised profit over compliance but can retain South Australia's sole casino licence. Retired judge Brian Martin cited two decades without board compliance meetings and significant anti-money laundering failings. The casino paid a A$67 million fine last year for breaches between 2016 and 2022. Since 2021, SkyCity has invested about $60 million over three years to improve governance, culture, and systems. CEO Jason Walbridge says the company accepts the findings, apologises for failings, and remains committed to regulatory engagement. The review, paused during court action, resumed to acknowledge substantial remedial changes. Turning to property, New Zealand's average home value fell 0.5% in the July quarter to $909,671, now 13.1% below the January 2022 peak. QV data shows Auckland values down 1.2% in the quarter and Wellington down 3.3%. Some regions, including Northland, Tauranga, Queenstown and Invercargill, recorded gains. Queenstown values are 16.9% above the peak, while Wellington remains 27.3% below. Christchurch dipped 0.2%, and Dunedin fell 1.5%. QV's Andrea Rush says national values have broadly stabilised, but recovery is uneven. Activity is strongest in lower to mid-value properties, supported by stable interest rates, better finance access, and a wide choice of listings. Meanwhile, BNZ has cut most home loan rates to their lowest in three years, following similar moves by ANZ earlier this week. BNZ's one-year and 18-month fixed rates drop 10 basis points to 4.79%, matching ANZ's lowest one-year offer. The six-month fixed rate falls 20 points to 5.29%, and the two-year rate eases to 4.89%. General manager James Leydon says the cuts provide competitive borrowing costs and ease household budgets. ANZ reduced its six-month special to 5.14% and two-year to 4.89%. The Reserve Bank's Official Cash Rate is 3.25%, down 225 points since August last year, with a cut widely expected next week. And finally, new data from the Aotearoa Hotel Industry Conference shows no major New Zealand city has hotel occupancy rates above pre-Covid levels, with a widening gap between North and South Islands. STR's Matthew Burke says demand is improving but lags supply growth, driving declines, especially in Auckland and Wellington. Rotorua shows the strongest recovery, with Christchurch and Queenstown also up year-to-date. Auckland faces falling demand despite new supply, particularly in its CBD, while Wellington's occupancy is hit by weaker weekday business. Queenstown is forecast to have the highest occupancy next summer, though still below last year's performance. That was Today in Business - Powered by Spark for Business - your NZ Herald daily business summary. For the best in business, subscribe to Herald Premium at nzherald.co.nz.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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