(26 June 2012 – Australia) The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has ranked Australia’s big four the most profitable in the developed world for the second year running.The big four have wider interest margins and lower costs than most of their overseas peers, the annual report of the Switzerland-based institution shows.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Westpac, ANZ and National Australia Bank (NAB) posted pre-tax profits equal to 1.19 percent of their assets in 2011, says the report, to be published today.
This was the highest level of profitability among banks from 13 nations included in the annual survey of bank profits, after the big four also topped the BIS profit league tables in 2010.
Canada’s banks, which also dodged the worst of the global financial crisis, were the next-best performers, with profits equal to 1.08 percent of assets.
The banks’ profits hit A$12 billion in the first half of the 2012 financial year.
The BIS – known as the central bankers’ bank – has not included banks from developing markets or some smaller economies.
The BIS said many global banks were still in the process of writing down assets, which could see more taxpayer funds injected into the sector.