Is National Australia Bank profitable in 2026?

Yes. NAB's H1 FY26 underlying profit rose 6.4% year on year to A$5,852 million as of 2026-05-03, though shares fell 1.88% to A$39.08 that day after revenue missed analyst forecasts.

Is NAB cutting jobs in Australia?

Yes. NAB cut 410 Australian tech and operations roles in September 2025 while creating 127 in India and Vietnam, then cut 447 more in March 2026, creating 277 Australian roles for a net 170 redundancies.

Could AI replace National Australia Bank?

No. AI cannot hold a banking licence or take deposits. NAB uses AI internally (6,000+ engineers on Amazon Q Developer or Cursor.ai as of January 2026) to cut costs, while APRA's licence and capital regime protect the institution itself.

Who is NAB's biggest competitor?

Commonwealth Bank of Australia, with roughly double NAB's market capitalisation (NAB at A$114 to 123 billion mid-2026) and described as the bank that sets pricing and tech pace in Australia's Big Four oligopoly.

Who owns National Australia Bank?

NAB is publicly listed on the ASX under ticker NAB, with institutional shareholders holding about 27.7% as of April 2026. NAB itself owns Bank of New Zealand and digital bank ubank.

What is NAB's market capitalization in 2026?

Roughly A$114 to 123 billion as of mid-2026 per Savings.com.au (2026-07-12), placing NAB among Australia's Big Four banks but trailing Commonwealth Bank in market cap.

Banks and financial groups · Australia

National Australia Bank

nab.com.au ↗

One of Australia's Big Four banks, holding roughly a fifth of the country's system assets.

Hard to displace

Assessed 22 July 2026 · Evidence as of 22 July 2026

Strong structural protection; the business model survives ai pressure.

On the recordSince 22 July 2026 · Checkable from Nov 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: FY2026 full year results, testing cost-savings targets and offshoring pace

The call

NAB's licence and deposit base keep it standing for years, while offshoring and CBA's pricing squeeze show up in who does the work and who earns the margin.

National Australia Bank is one of four giant banks that control about 70 percent of Australia's banking system. It is hard for new competitors to challenge because the government strictly regulates who can hold banking licenses and take deposits, and because Commonwealth Bank (the biggest rival) already has twice NAB's size and sets the pace on prices and technology. Artificial intelligence is not going to replace NAB itself, but AI is cutting costs by automating work that used to need people, which means NAB is moving jobs overseas to India and Vietnam instead of hiring in Australia. The biggest question is how fast that offshoring accelerates and whether workplace culture problems the company is investigating will damage its reputation or hiring.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. AI cannot hold a banking licence or take deposits. It is cutting NAB's back-office costs, not replacing the bank. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: Commonwealth Bank of Australia. CBA has about double NAB's market cap and sets the pace on mortgage pricing and tech, squeezing margins without threatening survival. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.

What protects it. An APRA banking licence, deposit base, and Big Four oligopoly structure that AI or new entrants cannot replicate.

What would change this call

NAB's H2 FY2026 results (due Nov 2026) show mortgage margin trend versus CBA rate cuts. Would show whether CBA's pricing moves are eroding NAB's home-lending profitability.
Outcome of workplace-safety-regulator investigation into culture and bullying complaints. Would show whether reputational and legal fallout is escalating beyond current disclosures.
Scale of next Australian tech/ops offshoring round to India or Vietnam after 170 net cuts in March 2026. Would show how fast NAB is shifting technology and operations jobs offshore.

Key numbers

Market cap A$114-123 billion (Jul 2026)
CET1 capital ratio 11.70%, down from 12.35% (Nov 2025)
Proprietary home lending share 47.7%, up from 35.3% (May 2026)

Named risks

Workplace-culture crisis: two employee suicides in early 2026 triggering regulator bullying investigations. Severity: high
Payroll remediation costs (A$130m FY25) flagged by NAB as uncertain, could increase further. Severity: medium
Ongoing Australian job cuts and offshoring drawing union opposition, risk of industrial disputes. Severity: medium
WealthHub regulatory fine for 9.5 million reporting failures over a decade signals compliance gaps. Severity: low
Revenue misses versus analyst forecasts (H1 FY26) amid margin compression in mature oligopoly. Severity: medium

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Commonwealth Bank of Australia	contesting	Roughly 2x NAB's market cap; sets pricing and tech pace among Big Four as of mid-2026
Westpac	contesting	Trades places with NAB for #2/#3 market cap ranking as of June 2026
ANZ Group	contesting	ANZ cut ~3,500 jobs under new CEO Sept 2025; added scale via 2024 Suncorp Bank acquisition
Macquarie Group	gaining on	Fast-growing digital challenger jostling with ANZ for 4th-largest bank by market cap, mid-2026
Digital/fintech challengers (Up, Revolut AU, Afterpay/Block)	gaining on	Eroding fee income and younger-customer share from incumbents as of 2026

Questions people ask

Is National Australia Bank profitable in 2026?: Yes. NAB's H1 FY26 underlying profit rose 6.4% year on year to A$5,852 million as of 2026-05-03, though shares fell 1.88% to A$39.08 that day after revenue missed analyst forecasts.
Is NAB cutting jobs in Australia?: Yes. NAB cut 410 Australian tech and operations roles in September 2025 while creating 127 in India and Vietnam, then cut 447 more in March 2026, creating 277 Australian roles for a net 170 redundancies.
Could AI replace National Australia Bank?: No. AI cannot hold a banking licence or take deposits. NAB uses AI internally (6,000+ engineers on Amazon Q Developer or Cursor.ai as of January 2026) to cut costs, while APRA's licence and capital regime protect the institution itself.
Who is NAB's biggest competitor?: Commonwealth Bank of Australia, with roughly double NAB's market capitalisation (NAB at A$114 to 123 billion mid-2026) and described as the bank that sets pricing and tech pace in Australia's Big Four oligopoly.
Who owns National Australia Bank?: NAB is publicly listed on the ASX under ticker NAB, with institutional shareholders holding about 27.7% as of April 2026. NAB itself owns Bank of New Zealand and digital bank ubank.
What is NAB's market capitalization in 2026?: Roughly A$114 to 123 billion as of mid-2026 per Savings.com.au (2026-07-12), placing NAB among Australia's Big Four banks but trailing Commonwealth Bank in market cap.

Timeline

2026-07-15ASIC fines NAB's WealthHub Securities A$1.055m for 9.5m reporting failures spanning 2014 to 2024
2026-05-03H1 FY26 results: underlying profit A$5,852m up 6.4% YoY, shares fall 1.88% on revenue miss
2026-04-20Workplace-safety regulator scrutiny follows two employee suicides in early 2026
2026-03-26NAB cuts 447 jobs, creates 277 Australian roles, nets 170 redundancies amid offshoring
2026-01-06NAB reports 6,000+ engineers using Amazon Q Developer or Cursor.ai, up from 350 pilot
2025-11-06FY2025 results: cash earnings A$7,091m, roughly flat vs FY2024's A$7,102m
2025-10-20NAB commits at least A$60bn to housing-affordability financing by 2030
2025-09-09NAB cuts 410 Australian tech and ops jobs, creates 127 roles in India and Vietnam
2024-06-17NAB abandons AUDN stablecoin project as core team departs to launch Ubiquity

Revision history

22 July 2026

First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

In the same band

Rakuten Bank Nomura Holdings VPBank