Westpac Banking Corporation has increased full year profit by 10 per cent, saying its business strategy was "delivering tangible benefits".
Net profit rose to $6.991 billion for the 12 months to September 30 from $6.346 billion a year earlier, Sydney-based Westpac said in a statement.
Cash earnings increased seven per cent to $6.301 billion.
Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly said it was pleasing to see evidence of the bank's strategy delivering tangible benefits.
"Deeper customer relationships, measured by customers with four or more products, are a real strength at a time of more subdued economic growth," she said in the statement.
"We are also growing overall customer numbers in each of our major brands."
The bank will pay a final dividend of 80 cents per share, fully franked.
Westpac's net interest margin was unchanged from 12 months earlier at 2.22 per cent while return on equity rose to 17.8 per cent, from 17.4 per cent a year earlier.
The bank's Tier 1 capital ratio rose 59 basis point to 9.7 per cent.
Westpac chief financial officer Phil Coffey said that there had been a small increase in business lending in the last quarter.
"The borrowing intentions of business customers are still there, but I think that the level of uncertainty we have from the current economic prospects, it is not surprising that we are seeing caution," he said.
"I think that caution may be with us for some time yet."
The bank's total lending for the full year was up four per cent to $496.6 billion mainly driven by mortgages, which rose by $17 billion.
Business lending declined by $2 billion.
Mr Coffey said wholesale markets were currently unsettled because of the uncertainty from Europe.
"It is a little hard to know exactly where the market will reopen when we get some more stable wholesale markets.
"But they are probably going to be higher than where they were when we left them."
Mr Coffey said he wasn't sure that one rate cut would be sufficient to change confidence but it would help.
The Reserve Bank of Australia cut the cash rate by 25 basis points on Tuesday to 4.5 per cent.
The rate cut would give some cash back to consumers and businesses but most of it would probably be saved rather than spent.
Westpac said bad debts declined 32 per cent to $993 million from a year earlier, helping boost net profit.
Cash earnings at the retail and business banking division gained 11 per cent to $1.949 billion. Cash earnings at the institutional bank declined two per cent to $1.487 billion, while they gained 12 per cent at St George Bank to $1.167 billion.
Cash earnings gained nine per cent at wealth management division BT Financial and surged 41 per cent at Westpac New Zealand.
