Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has reported a significant increase in profits for the latest quarter, driven by cost-cutting initiatives. The bank announced a cash profit of $1.94 billion for the three months ending December. This represents a 17 per cent increase compared to the average of the two previous quarters, after removing significant items. ANZ is one of Australia’s largest banks, providing a range of financial products and services to retail, commercial, and institutional customers. The company also operates in New Zealand and across the Asia-Pacific region.
The primary factor behind the profit surge was a substantial reduction in expenses. ANZ’s cost-cutting program, which includes a workforce reduction of 3,500 positions, saw over 60 per cent of those exits completed by the end of December. This led to an 8 per cent decrease in expenses, averaged over the previous two quarters (excluding significant items), while income experienced a modest increase of 1 per cent.
Chief Executive Officer Nuno Matos stated that the quarterly result demonstrates early progress in executing the ANZ 2030 strategy. He also highlighted improvements in return on tangible equity, which reached 11.7 per cent, and a lower cost-to-income ratio, falling below 50 per cent. The bank’s common equity tier 1 capital ratio, a key indicator of balance sheet strength, increased by 12 basis points to 12.15 per cent during the quarter.
ANZ confirmed it is on track to meet all core commitments within the previously stated timelines. This includes its ‘root cause remediation plan’, the launch of the new digital front end by September 2027, and the migration of Suncorp Bank customers to ANZ by June 2027.
