(11 December 2012 – Australia) For every person in Australia, the big four banks earn A$1460 and are among the world’s most profitable.ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac have a combined annual cash profit of over A$24 billion.
A report showed only 10 percent of the banks’ profits find their way back into the nation’s superannuation accounts.
Research from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority reveals that in the past 20 years the big banks have lifted their share of the home and business lending market from 67.2 percent to 82.6 percent.
Pre-tax profits of the big four rose from 0.7 percent of GDP to a whopping 2.3 percent of GDP, the report said.