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Commonwealth Bank is Australia's biggest bank, taking deposits from savers and lending that money out as home loans and business loans.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia is the country's largest bank. It takes in money from people and businesses, then lends it out — mostly as home loans. When you get a mortgage in Australia, there's a decent chance it comes from this bank.
Its biggest business is home lending. It also runs a large retail bank for ordinary people: savings accounts, credit cards, personal loans, and everyday transaction accounts. On top of that, it serves businesses of all sizes, from small shops needing a loan to large companies needing complex financing. It also offers insurance, superannuation (Australia's version of a retirement savings account), and wealth management. Customers choose a bank largely on trust, convenience, and branch and app networks — and CBA has the biggest customer base in the country. How does a bank actually make money? The simple version: it pays you a small amount of interest on your savings, then lends that money to someone buying a house at a higher interest rate. The gap between those two rates is the core profit engine. CBA also earns fees on services and makes money from its wealth and insurance arms. The risk is that borrowers don't pay back — so the bank holds capital buffers and carefully checks who it lends to. Australia's banking market is dominated by four big banks, and CBA competes fiercely with Westpac Banking Corporation, National Australia Bank, and ANZ Group.
CBA is one of the most profitable banks in the world by return on equity, and it's known for a very strong app and digital banking experience, which keeps customers loyal. It pays big dividends to shareholders, and it has bought back shares over the years. The bank's fortunes are tied to the Australian housing market and interest rates — when rates rise fast, margins can improve, but borrowers feel the squeeze and loan stress can rise. A major regulatory issue for the whole sector is the "bank levy" and tighter capital rules, which affect how much profit banks can return to shareholders.
Saved answer · last researched 27 Oct 2026