Leading banks in Australia H1 2021 by assets

Commonwealth Bank of Australia was the largest Australian bank as at H1 2021, by value of total assets. As of that date, the value of assets amounted to 1,058 billion Australian dollars.

Who are the ‘’big four banks’’?

The banking industry in Australia is heavily concentrated on the “big four”, which refers to the four largest banks that hold more than 80 percent of all loans from mortgage borrowers. The largest four banks started emerging from the 1980s as the big banks started a series of acquisitions and mergers that propelled them to the forefront, while a growing number of mortgage loans in the early 2000s’ housing boom solidified their place in the market. While ANZ's total assets topped the ranks in 2019, in the previous financial year, the asset value of Commonwealth Bank was the highest among the big four. Commonwealth Bank’s total assets have been consistently high over the past decade.

Consumer perception of the “big four”

Despite the oligarchical nature of the market, consumers have shown a high level of satisfaction with the big four banks. This has allowed the big four to continue to expand their market share over the years without significant backlash from the public while maintaining the highest brand values in the financial market.