Why these 3 ASX 200 bank shares leapt into our headlines this week

There was a lot going on in the Aussie banking sector this week.

Bernd Struben

Author bio Bernd Struben earned his BA in economics from the University of Michigan in 1991, with post-graduate studies in environmental economics at the University of Connecticut. Over the years he’s written about and analysed the tourism industry in the Caribbean; Europe’s commercial real estate markets; and, since moving to Australia in 2010, global and Aussie share markets. Bernd studies geopolitical and macroeconomic trends, alongside sector and company specific data, to gauge what he believes could be tomorrow's best investments. In his free time, you might find Bernd at the beach with his family or working on his next science fiction novel. Areas of expertise Australian and global share markets Macroeconomic and geopolitical trends Real estate Education Economics, University of Michigan Favorite investment quote "The four most dangerous words in investing are: 'This time it's different." — Sir John Templeton

Published November 17, 2023 1:36 pm AEDT

A lot happened with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank shares this week.

Here's why these three big bank stocks made headline news.

Group of investors madly grabbing for cash on city street. — Image source: Getty Images

ASX 200 bank shares in the news

First up, we have Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ).

ANZ reported its full-year results for FY 2023 on Monday. And the ASX 200 bank share leapt into our headlines after reporting a record $7.4 billion cash profit.

Other highlights included a 5% year-on-year increase in operating income to $20.46 billion. And ANZ managed to increase its net interest margin by 0.07% in FY 2022 to 1.70%.

Passive income investors were rewarded by a partly franked final dividend of 94 cents per share. That brings the full-year payout to $1.75 per share, up 20% from the prior year. At the current ANZ share price, the big bank's shares trade at a trailing yield of 7.3%.

Commenting on the FY 2023 results, ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott said:

We continued to strengthen our balance sheet and closed the year with provisions for potential credit losses higher than prior to the pandemic, and with more capital than ever before.

This is critical as we enter a period of continued high interest rates, rising costs and geopolitical tensions.

Which brings us to the second ASX 200 bank share making headline news this week, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB).

The NAB share price closed down 3.2% on Tuesday, but most of that pressure came because the stock was trading ex-dividend. That meant anyone buying the big bank's stock on Tuesday was no longer eligible for the fully franked final dividend of 84 cents per share.

That brought NAB's full-year dividend payout to $1.67 per share, up 10.6% from FY 2022. The generous income payout was made possible by an 8.8% increase in full-year cash earnings, which reached $7.73 billion.

At the current share price, NAB stock trades at a trailing yield of 6.1%.

The biggest of the big banks

Rounding off the list of ASX 200 bank shares leaping onto our headlines this week is Australia's biggest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA).

CBA released its first quarter update on Tuesday. Highlights included $6.82 billion in operating income for the three months, in line with the prior corresponding period.

And while operating expenses increased 3% to $3.04 billion, so too did the big bank's cash net profit after tax, which increased 1% to $2.5 billion.

The CBA share price closed up 1.0% on the day.

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