SYDNEY, March 13, 2026, 08:45 AEDT
- ANZ wrapped up Thursday at A$37.02, slipping 2.53%, as the S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 1.31% to finish at 8,629.
- Australian bank shares took a hit, pressured by oil prices pushing toward $100 and growing bets that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will hike rates next week.
- Tammy Medard is set to take over as head of ANZ’s Business & Private Bank starting May 1.
ANZ Group Holdings dropped harder than the wider Australian market Thursday, finishing at A$37.02. Fresh inflation jitters and a rapid shift in interest-rate bets fueled selling across bank shares. The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark slipped 1.31%, settling at 8,629.
The drop stands out—ANZ had surged just a month back after a surprisingly strong first quarter and the first real signs that CEO Nuno Matos’s cost cuts were starting to work. Now, Thursday’s close puts the stock roughly 8% under its Feb. 12 record of A$40.20, a sharp shift from celebrating execution to fretting about the wider economic outlook.
The backdrop shifted sharply. Oil spiked to roughly $100 a barrel after fresh tanker attacks in the Gulf, sparking worries about a renewed inflation shock. ANZ’s own weekly survey captured a jump in inflation expectations—up 0.8 percentage point to 6.1%. That’s the biggest single increase since the series kicked off in 2010.
The odds of an RBA rate hike at its upcoming meeting shot up to roughly 78%, after sitting below 30% just days ago. Economists from Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, and Westpac have all pivoted to forecasting a move. “The balance of probabilities has shifted,” said Commonwealth Bank’s Belinda Allen. Business Recorder
ANZ shares slid more than Commonwealth Bank, which dipped 0.62%, and outpaced Westpac’s 1.19% fall. The move was roughly matched by NAB, down 1.96%. That put ANZ near the bottom of the big-four on the day.
ANZ stayed in the spotlight on company news, naming Tammy Medard as Group Executive, Business & Private Bank effective May 1. She steps in for Clare Morgan, with Matos pushing forward on senior leadership changes. Matos called Medard “experienced and customer-focused,” citing her business banking credentials. ANZ
The reshuffle comes as Matos pushes ahead with a broader overhaul. Back in February, ANZ posted a first-quarter cash profit of A$1.94 billion, reported that over half of its planned 3,500 job cuts would be done by the end of 2025, and watched its shares surge up to 8.25%, hitting a record A$40.20. Citigroup’s Thomas Strong attributed the beat mainly to quicker cost-cutting, while Jefferies’ Andrew Lyons flagged net interest margin as “the real test” for ANZ as the bank ramps up its push for more housing growth. Reuters
ANZ’s half-year earnings land sooner than expected, now slated for May 1. The bank shifted the release up from May 7 just last week and bumped the ex-dividend date for its interim payout to May 12. With the calendar compressed, investors get a quicker read on whether the turnaround is sticking.
Still, where the shares head next might hinge more on oil prices and the RBA than on anything ANZ does. Phil O’Donaghoe at Deutsche Bank said, “our base case now is for a hike,” although a deeper crisis in the Middle East could upend that outlook. A pullback in oil might see some of Thursday’s losses retraced; if energy costs stay elevated, though, the squeeze on households, weaker loan appetite, and rising bad debts all become more likely. Reuters
ANZ shares remain roughly 1.9% higher since the beginning of 2026. Thursday’s drop, though, underscored how fast sentiment flipped—cost-cut hopes giving way to a tougher outlook on the cycle.
