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Big four

Today

Commonwealth Bank has paid a stronger than expected dividend.

Home borrowers will pay for the rural bank branch levy

Treasury has come up with a radical but rushed plan to make all banks fund those with the biggest regional reach. But there is no guarantee that it will work.

  • John Kehoe

Yesterday

NAB chief financial officer Nathan Goonan appearing virtually at the CFO Live summit on Tuesday.

NAB executive warns of ‘elusive’ productivity gains in age of AI

Finance executives have been circumspect about the transformative power of the new technology, suggesting return on investment should be the focus.

  • James Eyers
Cuscal is chaired by Elizabeth Proust.

APRA warned Cuscal on risk settings ahead of IPO

The payments company, set to list on the ASX next week, is working with the regulator to improve compliance systems after an external review disclosed in its prospectus.

  • James Eyers and Lucas Baird

This Month

Based on assumptions circulated by Treasury last week, Macquarie would pay up to $75 million under the proposed system.

Macquarie could pass on bank levy to home borrowers

Banking disrupter Macquarie would jack up interest rates on mortgages or even leave the retail market altogether under a rural service proposed levy, an analyst says.

  • Lucas Baird, John Kehoe and Tom McIlroy
The Bank of New South Wales opened branches everywhere, including the goldfields. Here is the tent branch at Wyalong, in the Northern Riverina, opened in 1894.

Branchless banks should not have to prop up bricks-and-mortar rivals

Before the government imposes a new levy to keep regional branches open and head off a Coalition attack, the competition and innovation effects must be weighed.

  • The AFR View
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Customers at the Commonwealth Bank ATM in Hay, NSW, on Sunday.

A levy to help rural banking is also a tax on innovation

The quest to leave no one behind in the regions cannot come at the expense of working households in the outer suburbs and elsewhere.

  • Alexander Sanchez
NAB is under fire for alleged breaches of the credit code, after customers pleases for help went unanswered.

NAB taken to court for ignoring customers’ pleas for help

The bank failed to respond within legal timeframes to 345 hardship requests between October 2018 and September 2023, ASIC says in a new Federal Court action.

  • James Eyers
A CBA ATM in Hay, NSW, on Sunday. CBA has put a moratorium on closing any more regional branches.

Macquarie, Westpac and CBA big losers from $350m rural bank levy

Confidential details shared with industry participants show the size of the cost to the biggest lenders as Treasury attempts to keep regional branches open.

  • Updated
  • John Kehoe and Joshua Peach
The levy could cost some banks “tens of millions of dollars” each, industry sources said.

Banks face new levy to keep rural branches open

Banks would pay a levy of up to tens of millions dollars each a year if they fail to keep a large enough presence in regional and rural areas.

  • John Kehoe, Lucas Baird and James Eyers
CBA CEO Matt Comyn at the ASIC Annual Forum on Thursday afternoon.

CBA’s Comyn boils over at Apple free-riding on banks

The CBA boss said the government should consider hitting tech companies with a bank-style levy to even the competitive playing field.

  • James Eyers and Lucas Baird
“We remain committed to Commonwealth Private being the number one banking proposition for our high-net-worth clients in Australia,” CBA executive Angus Sullivan says.

CBA says borrowers are banking tax cuts to bolster mortgage buffer

Commonwealth Bank said its borrowers hoarded the benefits of the government’s stage three tax cuts to afford themselves breathing room on their mortgages.

  • Updated
  • Lucas Baird and James Eyers

ANZ creates new roles to fix risk issues

ANZ wants to hire a new risk manager and a head of regulatory relations as it begins the long task of shedding its $750 million capital charge.

  • Jonathan Shapiro
Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn wanted to talk strategy and tactics on Wednesday.

CBA finds a way to win in mortgages, but is it enough?

You could buy 10 of the ASX’s top 50 companies with the amount of money the bank’s shareholders have made in the past year.

  • Anthony Macdonald
Maile Carnegie says the bank’s Plus platform could ultimately mean cheaper loans for customers.

ANZ banks on Plus to cut costs by a third despite market scepticism

The lender has floated the idea of cutting mortgage costs if it can transition some 7 million customers onto the new technology platform by the end of 2028.

  • James Eyers and Lucas Baird
The big four’s financials have been on full display in the past week. Their numbers reveal some lessons about Australian business and life on the ASX in 2024.

Look no further than the banks to see a stubborn productivity problem

Investors either have a longer time horizon than we thought, or are happy to pay more for less. We now know it is the latter, and that does not bode well.

  • Anthony Macdonald
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Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn.

Why can’t Macquarie make up its mind on what CBA is worth?

When CBA reports strong quarterly profits this week, leading banking analysts will say sell. But their colleagues in wealth management will tell clients to buy.

  • Tony Boyd

Trump rocks markets | Chris Ellison’s long goodbye | The problem with bank shares

This week, James and Anthony try to figure out what Donald Trump’s extraordinary victory means for Australia, examine the latest mess at Mineral Resources and answer the big questions on banks’ reporting season.

ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott presented the bank’s full-year results on Friday.

ANZ’s Elliott warns Trump policies could mean later, smaller rate cuts

The bank’s chief executive said local borrowers were resilient despite an increase in overdue loan payments, with most tax cuts being saved instead of spent.

  • Updated
  • Lucas Baird and James Eyers
Shayne Elliott presenting the bank’s financial results on Friday.

ANZ bond scandal hits Shayne Elliott’s bonus, with all staff at risk

The bank’s chief executive said there were clearly “morale” issues in the markets division at the centre of the trading allegations as executives took pay cuts.

  • Jonathan Shapiro, Lucas Baird and James Eyers
Nick Molnar and Anthony Eisen. Afterpay celebrated its 10th birthday this week.

Inside a decade-long rollercoaster ride with Afterpay’s Nick Molnar

Ten years ago this week, the buy now, pay later firm’s founder sold some jewellery to his business partner Anthony Eisen in a novel way: pay-in-four.

  • James Eyers and Jonathan Shapiro

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/big-four-banks-5ux