Is ANZ Group profitable in 2026?

Yes. For FY2025 (year to 30 September 2025) ANZ reported statutory profit of A$5,891 million, down 10% year on year, and cash profit of A$5,787 million, down 14%, while underlying cash profit excluding one-offs held near A$6.9 billion, per its 2025-11-10 results release.

Is ANZ Group cutting jobs?

Yes. ANZ announced on 2025-09-09 plans to cut about 3,500 permanent roles plus 1,000 contractors by September 2026, mostly in retail and technology. Headcount had already fallen to 40,072 by 2026-03-31, down from 42,698 at FY2025 year end.

Could AI replace ANZ Group?

No. ANZ deploys AI tools like Z-GPT, the 'amie' chatbot, GitHub Copilot and a Salesforce Agentforce CRM (launched 2026-02-05) to cut costs and automate back-office work, but its banking licence, APRA oversight, and A$1.29 trillion balance sheet remain the source of its franchise, not AI.

ANZ Group Holdings Limited is publicly listed on the ASX and NZX with no controlling parent; it became the listed holding company on 2023-01-03. Its market capitalisation was approximately A$107.5 billion as of 2026-07-22, per gurufocus.com.

Who is ANZ Group's biggest competitor?

ANZ competes directly with Australia's other Big Four banks: Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, and Westpac, all comparable or larger full-service banks. In New Zealand its main rivals are BNZ, ASB and Westpac NZ, and digital challengers like Up Bank compete with ANZ Plus.

What penalties has ANZ Group faced recently?

On 2025-12-19 the Federal Court ordered ANZ to pay A$250 million in combined penalties for unconscionable conduct in a A$14 billion government bond deal, bond-data misreporting, and retail misconduct affecting about 65,000 customers, per ASIC's release.

Banks and financial groups · Australia

ANZ Group

anz.com ↗

One of Australia's Big Four banks and the largest bank in New Zealand.

Defensible for now

Assessed 22 July 2026 · Evidence as of 22 July 2026

Real protection, with named pressure against it.

On the recordSince 22 July 2026 · Checkable from H1 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: H1 FY26 results announcement covering ROE, restructuring costs and APRA remediation progress

The call

ANZ's licence and balance sheet make it nearly impossible to dislodge, while cost cuts, an APRA enforceable undertaking, and Suncorp integration create the real near-term turbulence.

ANZ is one of Australia's four largest banks, handling deposits, loans, and payments for millions of customers. It is nearly impossible to replace because the government tightly controls banking licenses, ANZ holds over one trillion dollars in customer money, and switching banks is hard for customers. However, ANZ is using AI tools like Copilot and internal software called 'amie' to eliminate thousands of retail and technology jobs by September 2026, and it is also paying A$250 million in regulatory fines while shrinking its workforce, which could create political tension in Queensland if the bank breaks its promise of no net job losses. The key thing to watch is whether these job cuts actually happen on schedule and whether regulators impose new requirements that force ANZ to spend even more money or slow down further.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. ANZ uses tools like Z-GPT, amie, Copilot and Salesforce Agentforce internally to cut costs, not to fend off an outside AI rival taking customers. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: None apparent. No tech giant or fintech is close to getting a banking licence and balance sheet at this scale in Australia or New Zealand. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.

What protects it. An ADI licence, APRA oversight, a A$1.29 trillion balance sheet, and a four-bank oligopoly that new entrants cannot easily copy.

What would change this call

ANZ's H1 FY26 results release shows ROE and restructuring costs. Whether profitability is stabilizing or still eroding under restructuring load.
Progress update on the 3,500-role cuts and Suncorp Queensland job pledge by mid-2026. Whether restructuring is completing cleanly or triggering political/union escalation.
Any new APRA findings under the Court Enforceable Undertaking through FY26. Whether regulatory remediation is closing out or uncovering deeper misconduct.

Key numbers

Cash ROE fell to 8.1%, down 157bps (2025-09-30)
Cash profit fell 14% y/y to A$5.79B (2025-09-30)
Cutting 3,500 roles by Sept 2026 (2026-07-22)

Named risks

Court Enforceable Undertaking and APRA remediation plan through FY26 after A$250M penalty. Severity: high
Execution risk on 3,500-role cut program amid union disputes and reported 'chaos' claims. Severity: medium
Suncorp Bank technology integration delayed to June 2027. Severity: medium
Political and union scrutiny over Queensland no-job-loss pledge through mid-2027. Severity: medium
Record A$11 billion short interest across Big Four banks signals market caution as of mid-2026. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Commonwealth Bank of Australia	contesting	Big Four peer of comparable or larger scale as of FY2025 results
National Australia Bank	contesting	Direct incumbent competitor across retail, commercial and institutional banking
Westpac	contesting	Competes across Australia and NZ retail, commercial, institutional segments
Up Bank	contesting	Digital-native challenger versus ANZ Plus, which hit 1 million customers by 2025-03-13

Questions people ask

Is ANZ Group profitable in 2026?: Yes. For FY2025 (year to 30 September 2025) ANZ reported statutory profit of A$5,891 million, down 10% year on year, and cash profit of A$5,787 million, down 14%, while underlying cash profit excluding one-offs held near A$6.9 billion, per its 2025-11-10 results release.
Is ANZ Group cutting jobs?: Yes. ANZ announced on 2025-09-09 plans to cut about 3,500 permanent roles plus 1,000 contractors by September 2026, mostly in retail and technology. Headcount had already fallen to 40,072 by 2026-03-31, down from 42,698 at FY2025 year end.
Could AI replace ANZ Group?: No. ANZ deploys AI tools like Z-GPT, the 'amie' chatbot, GitHub Copilot and a Salesforce Agentforce CRM (launched 2026-02-05) to cut costs and automate back-office work, but its banking licence, APRA oversight, and A$1.29 trillion balance sheet remain the source of its franchise, not AI.
Who owns ANZ Group?: ANZ Group Holdings Limited is publicly listed on the ASX and NZX with no controlling parent; it became the listed holding company on 2023-01-03. Its market capitalisation was approximately A$107.5 billion as of 2026-07-22, per gurufocus.com.
Who is ANZ Group's biggest competitor?: ANZ competes directly with Australia's other Big Four banks: Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, and Westpac, all comparable or larger full-service banks. In New Zealand its main rivals are BNZ, ASB and Westpac NZ, and digital challengers like Up Bank compete with ANZ Plus.
What penalties has ANZ Group faced recently?: On 2025-12-19 the Federal Court ordered ANZ to pay A$250 million in combined penalties for unconscionable conduct in a A$14 billion government bond deal, bond-data misreporting, and retail misconduct affecting about 65,000 customers, per ASIC's release.

Timeline

2026-02-05Launched Salesforce Agentforce 360 agentic AI CRM for business banking
2026-01-22Criticized for alleged 'empty promises' on Queensland job pledge amid Suncorp cuts
2025-12-19Federal Court orders A$250 million in penalties for unconscionable conduct and misreporting
2025-11-09CFO confirms Suncorp migration pushed to June 2027; A$414 million paid in severance
2025-10-13Announces 'ANZ 2030' strategy with four pillars including Customer First
2025-09-09Announces cuts of about 3,500 roles by September 2026, A$560 million charge
2025-06-24Launches 'amie' multi-agent genAI chatbot for institutional and commercial bankers
2025-05-12Nuno Matos starts as CEO, replacing Shayne Elliott
2024-07-31Completes acquisition of Suncorp Bank for approximately A$4.9 to 5 billion
2023-01-03ANZ Group Holdings Limited becomes ASX and NZX listed parent company

Revision history

22 July 2026

First assessed. Defensible for now. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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