IMB Bank hopes to celebrate its 140th year of operation by completing its merger with Hunter United Employees Credit Union, which will add 9000 members and A$334 million of assets.IMB says the merger is "advancing well through the regulatory approval process" and should be completed in the next few months. Hunter has five branches and 35 employees.IMB Bank released its half-year financial report yesterday. It made a net profit of $13.2 million for the six months to December 2019, compared with a net profit of $15.4 million in the previous corresponding period.IMB chair Noel Cornish said in a statement that the 14 per cent fall in earnings was due to the impact of lower interest rates, improvement in risk and compliance frameworks, and investment in strategic initiatives.The bank's loan portfolio grew by 3 per cent to $5.1 billion. Net interest income increased 1 per cent to $63 million. Fee and commission income was down a little at $6.3 million.Impairment expenses fell from $804,000 to $604,000.The net interest margin fell from 2.12 per cent for the 2018/19 financial year to 2.08 per cent in the December half.Cornish said: "This reduction reflects the bank's objective to balance the interests of our borrower members with the interests of our depositor members when determining interest rates."Capital adequacy is at 15.1 per cent. The bank declared a dividend of 8 cents a share, fully franked, at a payout ratio of 74.6 per cent.Cornish said the bank was on track to deliver a new digital lending platform this year. The goal is to be able to give a conditional loan approval in 20 minutes.