Investor Daily has explored the share price movements of Big Four banks to determine this year’s winners and losers.
Since the start of the year to 18 December, the ASX 200 has returned 4.6 per cent.
For the major banks, three of the four have reported double-digit gains while one traditional market darling has come unstuck this year.
The best-performing share price was ANZ which returned 26.6 per cent followed by Westpac which returned 18.6 per cent. In third place was NAB which saw its share price gain 12.8 per cent.
However, it was a different story for Commonwealth Bank which, while narrowly positive, has only seen growth of 0.6 per cent since the start of the year.
| Bank | Share price growth YTD |
| ANZ | 26.6% |
| Westpac | 18.6% |
| NAB | 12.8% |
| CBA | 0.6% |
Source: ASX, 18 December 2025
Commonwealth Bank has historically been viewed as a so-called ‘stock market darling’ for its strong long-term gains with its share price rising 85.2 per cent over five years and it is widely held by Australian equity fund managers. However, it has suffered this year after concerns about profit margins and home loan competition.
In its full-year results, it reported a statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) of $10.1 billion, a 4 per cent increase, while operating income was $28.5 billion. However, shares plunged after the results which wiped about $15 billion from its share price, just weeks after reaching a record high of $190 which valued the bank at around $300 billion.
Speaking at the time of the results, portfolio manager Matthew Davison at Martin Currie Australia, said: “CBA is still delivering solid performance with modest growth, but sequential momentum is weakening as cost and reinvestment pressures offset stable margins and strong loan growth. The return on equity (ROE) and growth trends remain disconnected from the current valuation.”
CBA’s elevated share price has also been linked to the buying power of industry superannuation funds, which have come under fire for distorting equity markets.
In financial advice, it finally exited its last position in the market with the sale of its private wealth arm Commonwealth Private Advice to LGT Wealth Management in June which brought over $5 billion in assets under advice.
More recently, it paid $792k in penalties after the ACCC alleged it breached Consumer Data Right rules when it failed to enable data sharing for some business and partnership accounts.
Looking ahead, chief executive Matt Comyn told the bank’s annual general meeting in October that it would be focusing on technology investment spending and the completion of a strategic tech migration to enhance the customer experience.
“In the last financial year, we accelerated investment by $300 million in line with our strategic priorities. Our consistent investment in technology, data and analytics allows us to deliver more personalised experiences for our customers, and make it easier for our people to serve our customers,” Comyn said.
“Throughout the year, we maintained strong liquidity, funding and capital positions. We have been focused on consistent operational execution and investing for the long term.
“As we look to the year ahead, we will continue to invest in our business and execute on our strategy to bring our purpose to life.”
Big four winner
When it comes to the winners this year, ANZ has stood out with 26 per cent gains although it has returned less than CBA over five years at 56.8 per cent and is the worst-performer over five years.
| Bank | Share price growth over 5 years |
| Westpac | 92.7% |
| CBA | 85.2% |
| NAB | 79.4% |
| ANZ | 56.8% |
Source: ASX, 18 December 2025
In its full-year results to 30 September, it reported a statutory profit of $5.89 billion for the year ended 30 September 2025, down 10 per cent on the previous year, and a cash profit of $5.79 billion.
It also announced an ANZ 2030 strategy which focuses on four streams of customer first, simplicity, resilience and delivering value.
At its AGM on 18 December, chief executive Nuno Matos – who was appointed in May 2025 to replace Shayne Elliott – said: “Our refreshed ANZ 2030 strategy, unveiled in October, lays out a clear plan to materially improve the performance of our Australia Retail and Business & Private Banking divisions, while extending our leadership in Institutional and New Zealand.
“At the heart of this strategy is our ambition to unlock ANZ’s potential to win the preference of customers, shareholders and other stakeholders.”
The big bank was active in its appointments space with a refreshed executive leadership team in October of Pedro Rodeia as group executive Australia retail, Christine Palmer as group chief risk officer, and Donald Patra as ANZ’s chief information officer.
However, it was not all good news as the firm paid a penalty of $240 million for widespread misconduct across its institutional and retail operations, the largest fine from ASIC against a single entity.
The bank admitted to unconscionable conduct in dealings with the Australian government, misreporting bond trading data by tens of billions of dollars, failing to properly manage customer hardship cases, providing misleading information on savings interest rates, and mishandling deceased estates affecting thousands of customers.
It is also set to defend a court proceeding by former CEO Elliott over allegations bonuses of $13.5 million were withheld from him. ANZ had an agreement on the terms of his departure and Elliott claims this agreement was breached when the board, led by Paul O’Sullivan, cancelled his multi-million-dollar bonus.
