The boss of our largest bank says its latest rise in profit doesn't tell the full story

ANZ New Zealand's annual profit has reached a new record high of 2.53 billion dollars - up 21-percent on last year.

That compares to a 13-percent rise for Westpac, and no major change for BNZ and ASB.

But Chief Executive Antonia Watson says when you exclude the bank's hedging investments, cash profit isn't rising nearly as fast.

She says that headline growth in a cost of living crisis is very uncomfortable, but underlying profit is only up four-percent.