Commonwealth Bank Q1 cash profit A$1.4bln

SYDNEY, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd (CBA) (CBA.AX: Quote, Profile, Research), the nation's second-biggest lender, reported cash net profit of about A$1.4 billion ($1.29 billion) in the first quarter, boosted by a strong performance in its wealth management division.

The bank said in a trading update that the operating environment remained challenging with average funding costs rising and credit growth slowing. The nation's other three big banks, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ.AX: Quote, Profile, Research), Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) and National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) have Sept 30 balance dates and reported full year earnings in the past two weeks.

CBA shares, which closed at A$52.71 on Friday, have risen 20 percent since it reported its earnings in mid August, outperforming a 6 percent rise in the benchmark S&P/ASX200 stock index . (Reporting by Morag MacKinnon)