MELBOURNE, May 5, 2026, 06:44 AEST
Shares of ANZ Group Holdings Limited (ASX: ANZ) finished Monday up 1.91% at A$36.29, after analysts at UBS shifted their rating to neutral from sell and pegged a new price target of A$36.50. The move brings focus back to Nuno Matos’ bank reset following last week’s results.
Timing played a role. The S&P/ASX200 in Australia dropped 32.7 points, closing at 8,697.1 as traders braced for the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision due Tuesday. National Australia Bank’s earnings miss weighed on financials. ANZ, meanwhile, “bounced modestly” after its post-results slump, according to AAP. AAP News
ANZ just handed investors an early read on Matos’s performance, a little under a year since he took the top job. The bank’s cash profit—a non-IFRS figure that excludes non-core items—came in ahead of the Bloomberg survey’s average call. But now, with that beat, attention is turning: Can the cost-cutting lead to real gains in lending, particularly for mortgages?
ANZ reported a statutory profit of A$3.65 billion for the six months to March 31, alongside a cash profit of A$3.78 billion, according to its May 1 release. Cash profit jumped 70% compared with the previous half-year, or 14% if significant items are set aside. Return on tangible equity hit 11.6%, and the Common Equity Tier 1 ratio reached 12.39%.
Matos called the result proof that ANZ’s transformation is “running at pace,” with the bank now delivering “materially better returns for shareholders.” Lending and deposits both saw moderate growth, he added, and “active margin management” helped ANZ hold margins steady even as competition stayed fierce. ANZ
Cost cuts are pulling the weight here. ANZ slashed expenses by 9% from the previous half, stripping out significant items, and brought its cost-to-income ratio down to 49.4%—it was 54.6% before. By the end of April, 78% of the 3,500 job cuts the bank flagged had already happened, plus over 1,000 managed-services consultants were out the door.
Execution’s got a way to go. By the end of March, ANZ had migrated 34% of Suncorp Bank, aiming for 57% by this financial year’s close—full migration set for June 2027. As for the unified customer front-end intended to merge ANZ Plus with broader retail and business, that piece was at just 13% completion in March.
“On paper, it looks like a solid start,” said Morningstar analyst Nathan Zaia in Sydney. The cost-saving guidance upgrade is a positive, he noted. Still, according to Zaia, ANZ must step up its game if it wants to win more ground in home lending. The Business Times
NAB’s first-half cash earnings came in at A$2.64 billion—well short of the A$2.93 billion forecast by Visible Alpha. The bank pointed to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and sticky domestic inflation as mounting threats to the outlook. NAB shares slipped following the release, Reuters reported. Over at AAP, Commonwealth Bank was softer, while Westpac ticked up ahead of its own earnings.
The trouble is, those operating gains could take a hit if macro stress worsens. ANZ booked a collective provision charge of A$126 million—essentially, a buffer for potential loan losses. Of that, A$175 million was linked to risks related to Middle East conflict, though improved credit quality helped cushion the blow. Matos flagged a bigger worry: if oil flows stay restricted, the situation could move beyond an inflation headache and start digging into supply and growth.
The stock found some footing thanks to the shareholder payout. ANZ held its interim dividend steady at 83 cents a share, while franking on the payout bumped up to 75% from the previous 70%. Chief Financial Officer Farhan Faruqui pointed to the improved capital position, saying ANZ won’t run another discounted dividend reinvestment plan, and will offset the interim plan by buying shares in the market.
ANZ shares are up against a tight challenge: management needs to prove cost cuts can drive stronger customer growth, all while holding the margin line. The stock finished Monday just shy of UBS’s upgraded A$36.50 target—so there’s next to no buffer left for slip-ups, whether on home loan performance, Suncorp integration or credit costs.
