ING DIRECT Australia’s first half profit rose by 22 per cent despite increased competition and a slowdown in credit growth.

The online banker said net profit was $161.9 million for the six months to June 30, up from $133.1 million in the same period last year.

Net interest income growth of 13 per cent from the previous corresponding period was the main driver for the profit growth, the bank said.

“The increased profit is backed by a strengthening of the banks balance sheet and is evidence of ING DIRECT’s strategy of achieving sustainable growth,” chief executive Don Koch said.

Deposits rose 22 per cent from a year earlier to $25.1 billion, while mortgage growth was much slower, up $400 million from six months earlier to $37.1 billion at June 30.

ING DIRECT had 1.45 million customers at June 30.

The bank expects challenging market conditions for the remainder of 2011, but said strong revenue growth put it in a good position to deal with that.