MELBOURNE, May 3, 2026, 23:01 AEST
- ANZ Group Holdings reported first-half cash profit of A$3.78 billion and held its interim dividend at 83 Australian cents a share, with franking lifted to 75%.
- The stock still closed down 2.84% at A$35.61 on Friday, as investors weighed credit buffers, cost cuts and a still-unfinished risk overhaul.
- The result lands before National Australia Bank and Westpac report this week, and before an expected Reserve Bank of Australia rate rise on May 5.
ANZ Group Holdings’ profit jump failed to stop a selloff in the bank’s shares, with investors looking past lower costs and a steady dividend to focus on credit risk, geopolitical shocks and the execution of Chief Executive Nuno Matos’ overhaul.
The Melbourne-based lender reported statutory profit of A$3.65 billion for the six months to March 31 and cash profit of A$3.78 billion. Cash profit, a measure that strips out non-core items, rose 14% from the previous half when ANZ excluded significant items from the comparison.
That matters now because Australian banks are entering a harder part of the cycle. A Reuters poll showed economists expect the RBA to raise the cash rate to 4.35% on May 5, while inflation pressure from disrupted oil supply has sharpened questions about household spending, loan arrears and bank margins.
ANZ said operating expenses fell 22% from the previous half, or 9% excluding significant items, helping lift return on tangible equity to 11.6%. Return on tangible equity measures profit against shareholders’ tangible capital and is watched by bank investors as a gauge of how efficiently capital is used.
The board proposed an 83-cent interim dividend, partially franked at 75%, meaning Australian tax credits attach to part of the payment. ANZ’s Common Equity Tier 1 ratio, a core capital measure used by regulators, rose 36 basis points to 12.39%; a basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage point.
Matos said ANZ’s “transformation is running at pace” and pointed to stable margins despite intense competition. He also said the bank’s institutional and New Zealand divisions continued to perform well, while changes in Australian retail and business banking were still under way.
Chief Financial Officer Farhan Faruqui said ANZ had exited 78% of the 3,500 roles targeted by the end of April and had delivered A$392 million of an A$800 million full-year productivity target. He said the bank now expected to deliver closer to A$875 million in productivity savings for the year.
The market response was less forgiving. ANZ shares closed down 2.84% at A$35.61 on Friday, according to Bloomberg market data, after trading as high as A$37.11 during the session.
Credit was the heavier note in the result. ANZ took a A$126 million collective provision charge, including A$175 million for possible effects from Middle East conflict; collective provisions are reserves against expected losses across loan portfolios, not just loans already in trouble. Matos said the impact on ANZ’s credit, capital and liquidity position had been minimal so far, but “the situation is dynamic.” ANZ
Peers are dealing with the same issue. NAB has said it expects first-half credit impairment charges to double to A$706 million, while Westpac said Middle East conflict and energy-market shocks were creating profit pressure and had prompted higher credit provisioning. NAB reports on Monday and Westpac on Tuesday.
ANZ’s New Zealand arm added a steadier counterpoint. ANZ New Zealand reported cash net profit after tax of NZ$1.24 billion, up 2% from the prior half, with net loans up 2% and customer deposits up 4%. Antonia Watson, chief executive of ANZ Bank New Zealand, said the economic outlook remained uncertain and that Middle East events showed how quickly global shocks could hit a fragile recovery.
But the risk is not only bad debts. Promontory, the independent reviewer appointed under ANZ’s court-enforceable undertaking with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, said ANZ’s risk remediation program was broadly on track but still in early execution, with resourcing constraints, scheduling risks and more complex work still to come. Its report listed the non-financial risk framework and processes workstream as red.
The next test is whether ANZ can keep cutting costs without weakening controls. Matos has also reset the Suncorp Bank integration program, with a target to migrate Suncorp Bank customers to ANZ by June 2027, while promising the second phase of his ANZ 2030 plan will deliver stronger growth after the clean-up.
