The settlement of a long-running tax dispute has hit ASB's bottom line - sending its books into the red.
The bank made an after-tax loss of $10 million in the six months to December.
Last month, the Australian-owned bank settled a long-running taxation dispute with the Inland Revenue - agreeing to pay $264 million in tax and interest charges.
If the one-off expense is excluded, ASB made an underlying profit of $199 million dollars - down 16.4% on the same period last year.
ASB chairman Gary Judd says it's a solid underlying profit given the global recession has severely affected banks around the world.
The bank set aside $127 million in the period to cover bad loans - more than double the $60 million put aside in the same period the year prior.
Lending to households, farms and businesses rose by 3% to just over $54 billion during the six month period.
Total deposits increased by 1% to $57.6 billion.
