ANZ Bank’s profit tops estimates on CEO turnaround strategy

Published Fri, May 1, 2026 · 01:26 PM

[MELBOURNE] ANZ Group Holdings’ first-half profit surpassed analysts’ estimates on signs of improvement with the bank’s overhaul by chief executive officer Nuno Matos as investors push for more progress at the Australian bank.

Cash profit from continuing operations climbed to A$3.78 billion (S$3.5 billion) in the six months to March 31, exceeding the A$3.69 billion average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Matos is orchestrating a turnaround at the Melbourne-based firm, which has struggled in recent years with misconduct in parts of its retail and institutional bank that led to regulatory fines and extra capital requirements.

His 2030 strategy is removing duplication, reducing costs and prioritising staff time on key projects.

“On paper, it looks like a solid start,” said Nathan Zaia, an analyst at Morningstar in Sydney. “The fact they have upgraded the cost saving guidance is encouraging, but the real problem is they need to be more competitive,” to gain market share in home lending, in particular, he added.

Return on tangible equity rose to 11.6 per cent, a further sign that Matos is driving improved returns for shareholders since he took the helm one year ago. ANZ said it expects costs to be down around 5 per cent in the 2026 financial year. 

Our “actions to reset the bank are working, but we have more to do,” Matos said. 

ANZ shares dipped 0.9 per cent as of 11.16 am in Sydney. They remain more than 20 per cent higher over the past year and have outperformed all their main rivals during that period. 

Meantime, he warned that the impact of higher energy costs from the conflict in the Middle East may hit the economy.

“The longer the flow of oil is constrained, the greater the chance the crisis shifts from being primarily an inflation challenge, to much more a supply and growth challenge,” Matos said. “Reflecting this raised risk in the external environment, we have increased our collective provisions,” he said.

ANZ took a collective provision charge of A$126 million, which included a A$175 million charge for the potential impacts of the Middle East conflict, and was partially offset by improvement in the underlying portfolio’s credit quality.

Key businesses including its Australian retail and institutional divisions continued to grow. 

“While we are early in our transformation, we are already more focused on our customers, simpler, more resilient and have materially improved value for our shareholders,” Matos said on a call with investors and analysts. 

ANZ said progress is being made on improving risk management and compliance after the prudential regulator last year slapped additional capital requirements on the bank due to a series of inadequacies. “We have made important steps forward and continuing to uplift our practices is a key priority,” Matos said.

Promontory, the firm tasked with reviewing ANZ’s progress on addressing the concerns laid out by the prudential regulator, released its first independent report alongside the earnings update.

The document signalled challenges remain as the pace of change at ANZ puts pressure on goals to improve risk management and often reflected “competing priorities.” BLOOMBERG