Australian banks face earnings drag as bad debts climb

By Swati Pandey SYDNEY (Reuters) - A bad debt blowout is likely to end a dream run of six straight years of record profits for Australia's banks as they report half-yearly earnings next week, piling pressure on a sector already on the defensive over a series of financial scandals. The increase in bad debts of about A$3.4 billion (1.7 billion pounds), according to an estimate by UBS, could pull interim earnings for at least one of the top four lenders lower, while the others should continue to se