“Big 4” Aussie Banks Steadily Becoming “Big 1+3”

The Commonwealth Bank seems to be slowly but surely drawing away from the NAB, Westpac and the ANZ – each of which seems powerless to close the inexorably widening gap.
Read MoreThe Commonwealth Bank seems to be slowly but surely drawing away from the NAB, Westpac and the ANZ – each of which seems powerless to close the inexorably widening gap.
Read MoreCommentary from ANZ this week suggests the company wants to go shopping and use its surplus capital to buy non-bank businesses rather than give it back to shareholders.
Read MoreBuried in yesterday’s ANZ earnings announcement was intriguing news that the bank is moving towards a different structure – a holding company similar to how Macquarie Group is now configured.
Read MoreThe ANZ Bank will pay an unchanged interim dividend of 72 cents a share after an unimpressive first half performance saw a 4% rise in cash earnings.
Read MoreANZ Bank is one of the banks preferred under Morgan Stanley’s coverage and the Overweight rating and $30.30 target are retained.
Read MoreOverweight and $30 target retained.
Read MoreANZ and CBA were both in the news on Tuesday as the former made some key personnel moves and the latter offloaded an asset, raising expectations for further capital management programs.
Read MoreNo change to earnings forecasts but a target price increase to $29.25 from $27.00. Neutral retained.
Read MorePrice target $30. Buy. UBS’s estimates are below market consensus.
Read MoreThe market viewed ANZ’s December quarter update as a case of too much upbeat commentary and not enough about whether or not the bank actually earned a profit for the period.
Read MoreThe $30 target price and Outperform rating are maintained.
Read MoreIn its final legal action resulting from the 2019 Royal Commission, ASIC has launched legal action against ANZ Bank after it failed to pass on financial benefits to clients.
Read MoreThe Neutral rating and target price of $28.50 for ANZ Bank are retained.
Read MoreASIC is taking ANZ Bank to court over its discredited ‘introducer’ housing loan program that generated more than $18 billion in home loans for 50,000 people from mid-2016 to early 2018.
Read MoreTuesday’s solid full year result from the National Australia Bank concluded the strong recovery the big four have made from the pandemic damaged 2020 financial year.
Read MoreOutperform retained, target rises to $30.00 from $29.50.
Read MoreFor all the silly business media talk to the contrary, the bottom line is that ANZ has emerged from two years of pandemic hit lockdowns and disruptions in good shape and looking prudently run.
Read MoreCredit Suisse is wary of being too negative on the bank given its sharp discount to the sector. Neutral rating and $28.50 target retained.
Read MoreNo trading update nor buyback for now from ANZ, but plenty of guidance on their loan books and capital position, both of which look strong enough for now.
Read MoreMorgans retains its Add rating and $34.50 target.
Read MoreCiti retains its Neutral rating and $29.50 target price.
Read MoreThe ANZ Bank has surprised the market by revealing a $1.5 billion buyback on Monday night, declaring it would not affect the bank’s ability to support pandemic-affected customers.
Read MoreThe Add rating and $34.50 target are maintained.
Read MoreThe Add rating is maintained and the target price is increased to $34.50 from $33.50.
Read MoreFor the ANZ it looks like a case of ‘sell on the news’ and take profits after the shares dipped yesterday in the wake of a solid recovery in interim earnings and a higher dividend.
Read MoreANZ has joined Westpac in lifting earnings and dividend for the six months to March 31 as the economy and lending in particular recovers from 2020’s pandemic driven lockdowns.
Read MoreEarlier in the week it was Westpac with some balance sheet tidying up ahead of next week’s interim results; on Friday it was the ANZ with a rather larger amount.
Read MoreShares in ANZ hit their highest level in a year yesterday, putting behind the ravages of COVID and the lockdowns after a solid December quarter trading update.
Read MoreANZ joined rivals Commonwealth, NAB and Westpac in justifying the big rally in their shares since early November with a solid trading update for the December quarter on Thursday.
Read MoreANZ Bank shares ended the day up 1.3% despite a mealy-mouthed assurance at yesterday’s AGM from new chair Paul O’Sullivan about the lender’s dividend policy.
Read MoreIn more good news for investors, APRA has eased its dividend guidance for the banks and, from the start of 2021, will no longer be holding lenders to a minimum level of earnings retention.
Read MoreANZ Bank and National Bank hold their annual meetings this week and should have an easier ride than Westpac did on Friday. Westpac pledged at the meeting that shareholders will see a return to normal dividend payments in 2021 following a tumultuous year that has swiped the bank’s profits by 66%.
Read MoreOld favourites, bank shares returned to the fore on the ASX yesterday after the key regulator APRA revealed that its clamp-on dividends would be eased.
Read MoreAs expected the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns, and the surge in unemployment and business problems whacked every measure at Australia’s big four banks in the year to September 30.
Read MoreANZ shares fell 2.4% to $18.70 yesterday in a market that was rattled all day by the new waves of COVID-19 infections in Europe and the US. The ASX 200 fell 97 points or 1.6% yesterday on those rising COVID-19 fears.
Read MoreThe ANZ bank has slashed full-year dividend by more than 60% after reporting a 40% slide in earnings to $3.577 billion for the year to September 30.
Read MoreANZ Bank kicks off the 2019-20 bank reporting season on Thursday but the NAB snuck on in Friday with a pre-release update of its own with news of another $600 million-plus of losses and impairments, including wage underpayments to staff.
Read MoreBuried in the Reserve Bank’s latest Financial Stability Review is the best news the country (and the governments) have had since the COVID-19 pandemic started ravaging the economy in February – Australia’s banks are healthy and have more than enough capital to support the economy during the slowdown without getting into trouble.
Read MoreUnlike its larger rival, Westpac, the ANZ Bank revealed that it will pay shareholders an interim dividend – 25 cents a share – reversing the deferral decision taken several months ago at the height of the initial surge in COVID-19 infections and lockdowns.
Read MoreThe dividend outlook for banks has weighed heavily on valuations since the onset of the pandemic and the resultant economic slump. Has the prudential regulator, APRA, set minds at rest?
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