The biggest Australian banks are wholly-owned Australian companies and all pay dividends. Known as the “Big Four” – (compare that with Canada’s “Big Five” or as some say, “Big Six“) – these Australian banks by no means represent all of the Australian banking sector, but they are the ones with the largest presence.
See the list of the Best Canadian Banks
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX: CBA) – Founded in 1911, headquartered in Sydney and with a current slate of 38,000 employees, Commonwealth is considered to have the most brand recognition of any bank in the Australian financial services industry. Commonwealth is also Australia’s largest bank by market capitalization. Current local share price is around $51.40 and the yield is at about 6.7%.
Westpac (Westpac Banking Corporation)
(ASX: WBC) - Westpac is Australia’s oldest bank, first established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, and is headquartered in Sydney. Interestingly, Westpac only became a public company in 2001. Employing about 37,000 people, Westpac has about 550,000 shareholders and is one of the top 5 institutions by market capitalization on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). Current local share price is $22.52 and the yield is about 5.4%.
NAB (National Australia Bank)
(ASX: NAB) - Founded in 1893, NAB is Australia’s second oldest bank. Headquartered in Melbourne, NAB employs about 39,000 people with about 450,000 shareholders. NAB is also in control of several other powerful financial brands in Australia, including the Clydesdale Bank and Great Western Bank. The current local share price is about $23 and the yield is about 6%.
ANZ (Australia and New Zealand Banking Group)
(ASX: ANZ) - Opened in 1835, headquartered in Melbourne, ANZ is one of the world’s top 50 banks. Interestingly, ANZ is currently ranked by the Dow Jones as the Number One bank globally on the Sustainability Index. ANZ is also the smallest of the Australian Big Four by market capitalization. Current local share price is $22.18 and yields about 4.4%.
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I always heard of National Australia Bank and it’s control of some of the powerful financial brands in Australia.
I used to use Westpac, so I feel most familiar with them. There’s a good spread of benefits across all these banks. Reminds me of Canada a bit.
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