Bell Potter analyst TS Lim has lowered his recommendation of Westpac Bank (ASX:WBC) to a Hold

Bell Potter analyst TS Lim has lowered his recommendation of Westpac Bank (ASX:WBC) to a Hold. WBC's headline 1H14 results were largely in line with our expectations. The performance was driven by resilient NIM, steady volume growth, strong growth in other income, cost discipline and a significantly lower BDD charge due to both lower stressed and new impaired assets. With the 12-month expected shareholder return now at below 10% which includes a yield of around 5-5.3%, we lower the rating to Hold (previously Buy). We are nevertheless comfortable with this rating given the strong earnings momentum within the three core businesses (Westpac Retail & Business Bank, St George Bank and BT Financial Group) that is set to continue in the next 6-12 months.