National Australia Bank has reported a 13.4% fall in full-year cash earnings to $6.14 billion, as higher provisions for bad debts and a previously flagged software writedown weighed on a year in which the bank kept growing its business book.

The numbers

According to NAB’s results summary, released on Thursday 5 November, cash earnings excluding large notable items were flat at $7.09 billion. The large notable items were $1.347 billion of charges tied to an update of the bank’s software capitalisation policy.

  • Statutory net profit: $6.14 billion, down 9.1%, according to Capital Brief.
  • Credit impairment charges: up 86% to $1.55 billion, according to Capital Brief, including top-ups to forward-looking provisions.
  • Underlying profit: up 6.9% excluding large notable items, with revenue up 5.8% and costs up 4.5%.
  • Dividend: a fully franked final dividend of 85 cents, taking the year’s total to $1.70.
  • Capital: a CET1 ratio of 11.87%, which the bank expects capital actions to lift to about 12.07%.

Business banking leads

NAB said Australian business lending balances rose 9.8% over the year, supported by market share gains, while deposit balances grew 5.2%, including 7.4% growth in business transaction account balances. The share of Australian home loan drawdowns written through NAB’s own channels, rather than brokers, rose to 50% from 41%.

“Underlying profit, excluding the large notable item announced at the half, increased 6.9% and revenue grew 5.8%. Costs were up 4.5% and NIM improved,” chief executive Andrew Irvine said.

A tougher year ahead

NAB said higher inflation, five cash rate rises, rising living costs and global uncertainty were weighing on customer confidence and business conditions. “Australians continue to show resilience in a slowing environment,” Mr Irvine said.

On a media call, he said: “Our view is that growth will slow next year, but our central case is that we will see growth of around 1%,” Capital Brief reported. “We don’t think a recession is the most likely scenario, but it’s probably increased in terms of its probability of an occurrence.”

The Nightly reported that the share of NAB’s Australian mortgage book in negative equity, where borrowers owe more than their homes are worth, surged more than sixfold in a year to 0.49%.

Jobs and AI

The result follows NAB’s October announcement that it would cut about 2,500 roles. The Finance Sector Union said on 5 November that, after pressure from staff, the bank had agreed to defer forced redundancies to 27 January 2027 and extend consultation to 11 November. “But delaying redundancies is not the same as saving jobs,” FSU National President Wendy Streets said.

At the same time, NAB told investors it had rolled out an internal AI assistant, Ruby, to more than 40,000 staff, and claimed agentic AI had cut the time needed to approve business loans by 20%, iTnews reported.

For business borrowers, the message is mixed: NAB is clearly competing hard for commercial lending, but rising provisions show lenders are also watching credit quality more closely as the economy slows.

Sources: NAB 2026 Full Year Results Summary and media release (5 November 2026); Capital Brief (5 November 2026); The Nightly (5 November 2026); Finance Sector Union media release (5 November 2026); iTnews (6 November 2026).