SYDNEY, June 27, 2026, 02:02 AEST
- ASX cash trading did not run Saturday in Sydney. The last traded price for National Australia Bank on Friday was A$37.51, up 0.16%. CommSec
- NAB finished the week about 24% off its 52-week high, down 11.4% for 2026. Shares are trading near their 52-week low. Google
- Judo Capital’s latest bad-loan update points to a cost of risk just under 80 basis points, which is over four times NAB’s annualised group charge at 18 basis points.
- RBA officials are scheduled to speak this week, and NAB pays its interim dividend for July 2. ABC News
National Australia Bank Limited ASX:NAB edged higher Friday, finishing at A$37.51, up 0.16%. Investors are watching the bank’s credit position going into the weekend. The S&P/ASX 200 (XJO:INDEXASX) closed 0.18% higher at 8,764.2 Friday, but gave up 0.73% over the week. Google
NAB ended flat, but the tape was soft for the bank. Shares held just 5.7% above the 52-week low at A$35.48, while sitting 24% under the 52-week high at A$49.45. The market cap was A$115.07 billion. NAB’s dividend yield was 4.53%. Google
Sharper signals came from smaller players. Judo Capital Holdings Limited ASX:JDO told investors it now sees FY26 cost of risk between A$116 million and A$122 million, with three exposures across various sectors pushing that higher. The bank also put 90-day past due and impaired loans at roughly 3% of gross loans and advances as of June 30.
Judo had gross loans above A$14.4 billion as of June 24. Its cost-of-risk guidance puts that at about 80 to 85 basis points. NAB’s most recent half-year charge was 18 basis points of gross loans and acceptances, annualised. It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison: Judo only lends to small businesses, NAB’s book is wider. But that spread is why Judo’s update is important to NAB shareholders.
NAB, the country’s top business lender, reported half-year cash earnings of A$2.64 billion for the six months ended March 31, missing the A$2.93 billion Visible Alpha consensus from Reuters. The result included a A$949 million post-tax software capitalisation charge. Credit was already factored back into the price after the May result. Reuters
NAB’s credit impairment charge jumped to A$706 million, up from A$348 million a year ago. The bank said roughly A$300 million of the increase was forward-looking provisions tied to the Middle East conflict. NAB also reported a bigger individual charge in its corporate and institutional banking unit, which it attributed to a few customers.
National Australia Bank CEO Andrew Irvine said after the half-year numbers, “It’s very hard to forecast in these times.” NAB is going to raise A$1.8 billion with a dividend reinvestment plan, too. Reuters
Judo CEO Chris Bayliss said just “a small number of customers” were behind recent credit outcomes, describing the update as “partly a result of the macro environment.” The bank is sticking with its outlook for FY26 profit before tax at A$163 million to A$169 million and FY27 profit before tax at A$210 million to A$220 million.
Short trades are growing. VanEck said this month that short bets across Commonwealth Bank of Australia ASX:CBA, Westpac ASX:WBC, NAB, and ANZ Group ASX:ANZ have jumped to almost A$11 billion, marking the biggest combined short since ASIC records started in 2010. ASIC says its reported short-position data comes from short sellers and isn’t fully verified. Vaneck
RBA Governor Michele Bullock will speak on a Bank for International Settlements panel Sunday evening, just before markets reopen. Assistant Governor Christopher Kent is set to talk on Monday about extra monetary policy tools. ABC News
NAB is paying an interim dividend of 85 cents, due July 2. Its dividend reinvestment plan comes with a 1.5% discount and partial underwriting up to A$1.0 billion for expected take-up.
