There are dozens of different banks all across the country, some being nationwide, while others are limited to specific states. In this short guide, we’re going to give you a list of all the banks currently doing business in Australia, and cover the top ten banks in the country.
Top 10 Banks In Australia
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ( commonly abbreviated to ANZ )
ANZ first opened back in 1835 in Sydney and has been providing financial services to Australia ever since. Right now they are operating in 33 different global markets including Australia and New Zealand. Including being a top 10 bank in Australia, they are currently one of the top 50 banks in the entire world. Some of the services they provide include banking for institutional, small business, corporate, commercial, retail, and high net worth customers. Their Wealth Australia subsidiary also offers asset management, investment, and insurance solutions to their wide customer base.
ANZ employs about 51,000 people over its entire operation. There are around 570 different branches in Australia and they have about 6,000,000 customers there. Numbers-wise they have about A$981.1 billion in total assets, A$18.76 billion in revenue, and A$5.95 billion in net income as of 2019.
Commonwealth Bank
This bank is considered one of the “big four” Australian banks, and for good reason. It is the largest company currently being traded on the Australian stock market. It has branches across the country, in New Zealand, the UK, the USA, and Asia. It is well documented that this bank is the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere.
They provide many financial services including:
- Investments
- Retail Banking
- Business Banking
- Institutional Banking
- Stockbroking
- Superannuation
- Funds Management
- Insurance
They have been very successful with these service offerings considering they now have A$1.01 Trillion in total assets, A$30.16 billion in revenue, and A$9.63 billion in net income as of 2020.
Westpac Bank
This bank is the oldest in Australia and is also one of the “big four” banks in the country. It was established in 1817 with the name Bank of New South Wales. However, after a merger in the 1980s, it was renamed “Westpac” which stands for western pacific. It provides all the essential banking services to its 14 million customers including, but not limited to, consumer banking, corporate and business banking, investments, wealth management, insurance, and mortgages among others.
Nearly 40,000 people are working for Westpac right now and they have assets totaling A$906.63 billion. Their operating revenue was A$20.65 billion, and their net income was A$6.78 billion.
National Australia Bank ( commonly abbreviated to NAB )
This bank is also one of the “big four” banks of the country. It has a huge market capitalization, great earnings, and millions of customers. As of 2015, it was considered to be the 21st largest bank in the world when measured by market capitalization, and the 52nd largest bank in the world by total assets.
They provide business banking, consumer banking, wholesale banking, insurance, and wealth and asset management services to their 12.7 million customers throughout Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. Their total assets were A$ 806.51 billion, their revenue was A$19.101 billion, and their net income was A$5.554 billion as of 2018.
Macquarie Bank
They are a large investment bank and financial services provider in Australia. They have nearly A$595 billion of assets under management. They provide all the traditional services you would expect from a large investment bank including wealth management, investment banking, corporate banking, FOREX trading, equities trading, commodities trading, options and futures, and consumer banking.
As of 2020, their total assets were A$255.802 billion, their revenue was A$5.837 billion, and their net income was A$1.859 billion. With numbers like these, it’s easy to see why such a highly successful investment banking institution would make our top ten list.
Bank Of Queensland
This bank, headquartered in Brisbane, was established in 1863 making it one of the oldest banks in Queensland. Now it has over 160 different branches throughout Australia. It provides various banking and financial services to its customers including consumer and business banking, mortgages, credit cards, and insurance. It is well known for its high consumer satisfaction scores, averaging around 88% in recent years.
It’s a smaller bank than the “big four” we’ve already covered don’t let that deter you from doing business with them. Their numbers look good for a bank of their size. They have A$55.597 billion in total assets and A$298 million in net income as of 2019.
AMP Bank Limited
Known as the Australian Mutual Provident Society, this bank was originally formed in 1849. In 1988 it became a public company now known as AMP Bank Limited. It’s headquartered in Sydney and has around 5400 employees on its payroll. This bank provides financial advice, insurance, and banking services to all its customers. It is also Australia’s largest superannuation provider for both corporate and retail customers. It also has an investment advisory arm called AMP Capital.
As a smaller-sized bank, its numbers aren’t impressive as one of the big four. However, it does have a decent amount of assets and good net income. To be more specific it has A$110.4 billion of total assets and A$972 million in net income. These numbers are current to 2015.
Bendigo Bank
This bank was formed when two separate banks merged in 2007. Separately these smaller banks we’re dotted across the country, now together they form a larger company that provides greater access to financial products and services. They now have over 400 branches across the nation. They are headquartered in the city of Bendigo.
They provide all manner of banking and financial related services. Their balance sheet is also pretty substantial. They have A$72.570 billion in total assets and A$376.8 million in net income as of 2019.
Bankwest
This bank is a subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank mentioned earlier in this article. They do work under their own division of the parent company and have their own customers and business processes. They are based in Perth and have just under 1000 employees. They are a nationwide bank with offices and branches throughout the entire country.
They provide all of the traditional banking services you’ve come to expect from a top ten bank. This includes corporate banking, consumer and retail banking, small business banking, credit cards, trade finance, and other types of similar financial services. Bankwest had a net income of A$752 million.
Suncorp Bank
Also based out of Brisbane, this bank is one of the mid-sized institutions providing financial and banking services all over Australia. They also have the distinction of being the biggest general insurance group in the country. They were formed by the merger of three separate companies in 1996.
They now employ 13,500 people and have a customer base of 9,000,000 throughout the nation. They provide banking and financial services to these individuals including retail banking, business banking, life insurance, wealth management, and superannuation.
Their total assets were A$97.109 billion, their revenue was A$16.72 billion, and their net operating income was A$1.075 billion as of 2017.
As you can see these banks all are in great financial health by taking a glance at their numbers. Doing business with any of them will be a nice experience.
Now let’s take a quick look at some questions which you might have regarding these banks or just banking in Australia in general.
A List of All Banks in Australia by Region
Below you’ll find a listing of all the banks currently open in the country. These bank listings will be divided between banks for specific states, and banks that are nationwide or multi-state.
Tasmania
- MyState Bank
Western Australia
- P&N Bank
- Bankwest
South Australia
- BankSA
- Adelaide Bank
Queensland
- QT Mutual Bank
- Auswide Bank
- Heritage Bank
- Bank of Queensland
Victoria
- Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank ( For teachers only )
- Macquarie Bank
- Bank of Melbourne
- Bendigo Bank
- BankVic ( Emergency, police, health, and public servants )
- Bank Australia
New South Wales
- Police Bank ( for members of the Police and their families )
- Bank Of Sydney
Northern Territory
- No state-specific banks ( see nationwide & multi-state list for banks operating here )
Australian Capital Territory
- No state-specific banks ( see nationwide & multi-state list for banks operating here )
Nationwide or Multi-State Banks
- Hume Bank
- AMP Bank
- Commonwealth Bank
- NAB
- Suncorp Group
- ANZ
- IMB Bank
- Teachers Mutual Bank
- Westpac
- ME Bank
- Delphi Bank
- Rural Bank
- G&C Mutual Bank
- Defence Bank
- Beyond Bank Australia
- St George Bank
As you can see there are several different options if you’re looking for banking services in Australia. Naturally, you’re going to have some questions about these banks. However, you don’t need to worry as we’ll go over the most frequently asked questions at the end of this article.
For now, let’s go into a list of the top ten banks in the country currently, at the time of this writing. We’ll introduce the bank, then give our thoughts on why we think it has earned a spot on our top ten. So let’s get started.
Frequently Asked Banking Questions
What is the most popular bank in Australia?
We’d have to say hands down it’s The Commonwealth Bank of Australia. This bank has the most assets when compared to other Australian banks. It’s also one of the oldest in the country, and they have millions of satisfied customers throughout. They also have a large number of branches and ATMs which makes accessing your money easier.
Which bank is the safest in Australia?
According to a survey conducted by Global Finance, ANZ Group was considered the safest. This survey took into account bank operating procedures and the ability to deliver stable and secure services in a rapidly changing economy.
Which bank is the best in Victoria?
If you’re looking to stick with the big four, we’d recommend the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for Victoria residents. Otherwise, choose Bendigo Bank for your banking needs.
How do I choose a bank in Australia?
The first thing you need to look out for when choosing a bank is the fees. Some banks are worse than others when it comes to fees. Look for banks that offer accounts with no or low fees. You also want to choose savings accounts that have higher interest rates so you can earn a return on your money while it is in the bank.
Don’t be afraid to comparison shop several banks before choosing an account. We don’t recommend that you simply open an account with the first bank you contact.
What is the best everyday bank account in Australia?
We’d recommend the NAB Classic Banking account. First, it’s a big four institution. Second, there is no monthly account keeping fee and no deposit conditions. So you can have as little or as much money in your account at any given time.
Do you lose your money if a bank closes?
The answer to this question varies, depending on how much money you have in the bank. The government guarantees your deposits up to $250,000. So if you have $250,000 or less in the bank and it goes bust, the government will return your money to you.
If you have more than $250,000 on deposit, you’re only guaranteed that $250,000. Anything over that will be at risk of being lost. However, if you have that much money, you probably already have other uses such as investments to leave your money in as opposed to having it parked in a bank account.
Which Australian bank has the lowest fees?
The winner here is again the NAB Classic Banking account. It’s the only big four bank account that does not have monthly account keeping fee or deposit minimums to adhere to. If you’re currently banking with someone that is charging you these fees then you should consider switching to this type of account.
Conclusion
Hopefully, these questions and our top ten list have given you enough information to help guide you in picking your next bank account.
We highly recommend you bookmark our website and refer back to us anytime you need more information on Australian banking. Thanks for taking the time to read our article and we wish you happy banking!
