New Zealand financial services company Sovereign Limited – which has now merged with Colonial – has returned its last financial results. Sovereign, NZ’s leading non-bank home mortgage lender, saw its after-tax profit for the six months to December 31 rise to $NZ20.1 million.

The merger with Colonial will make the new entity New Zealand’s largest life insurance provider with more than $NZ3 billion in funds under management, 600,000 customers and 900 employees.