ANZ profit surges 70pc to $3.65 billion as CEO declares bank reset is 'running at pace'

ANZ Group Holdings (ASX: ANZ) has announced its transformation is "running at pace" after revealing a 70 per cent increase in statutory profit after tax of $3.65 billion for the first half of FY26 compared with the previous six months, a period that was weighed down by more than $1 billion in one-off charges.

Cash profit from continuing operations came in at $3.78 billion for the six months to 31 March 2026, representing a 14 per cent increase on the second half of FY25 after stripping out significant items that depressed the earlier result.

Those charges included a $285 million impairment on ANZ's stake in Indonesia's PT Bank Pan, $414 million in staff redundancy costs, a $264 million provision for the group's settlement with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and further write-downs tied to the Suncorp Bank migration and the closure of Cashrewards.

The transformation strategy includes plans to slash 3,500 jobs and another 1,000 outsourced contractor roles by September this year.

ANZ chief executive Nuno Matos, who was appointed in late 2024 to oversee the group's transformation plans, sees the latest half-year profit as the early benefits of this reset.

“This half-year result demonstrates three things," says Matos.

"First, our transformation is running at pace, and we are making good progress in executing our five immediate priorities safely, sustainably and on time.

“Second, in parallel, we are investing in line with our ANZ 2030 strategic initiatives, to deliver for our customers, accelerate growth and outperform the market beyond 2027.

“Third, importantly we are already delivering materially better returns for shareholders."

Despite the upbeat assessment, Matos also flagged geopolitical headwinds, pointing specifically to risks stemming from conflict in the Middle East.

“As we progress this work, we continue to operate in an increasingly complex world," says Matos.

"As Australia’s most international bank we have a front-row seat to global developments.

"Much of the potential impact of this crisis remains ahead of us, but the longer the flow of oil is constrained, the greater the chance the crisis shifts from being primarily an inflation challenge, to much more a supply and growth challenge."

ANZ has booked a $175 million collective provision charge in the half tied to geopolitical uncertainty, even though ANZ is not seeing signs of stress yet.

“Our customers understand the world is more complex," says Matos.

"Our corporate customers have been preparing for shocks, building capital and liquidity, maintaining flexibility and improving supply chain resilience.

"As such, there has been no material change in the overall borrowing behaviour of our customers.

“Likewise, in both Australia and New Zealand, households entered this period with generally strong balance sheets and high savings buffers.

"We have not seen any material increase in new customers entering hardship or receiving assistance."

Matos reveals that the impact on ANZ’s credit, capital and liquidity position has been "minimal to date".

"As a business that’s structured to be highly diversified, optimise capital use and focused on transaction banking, ANZ has entered this period with a strong balance sheet and deep customer relationships," he says.

"This means we can adapt to periods of uncertainty, manage risk and find opportunities to support our customers."

ANZ has set medium-term targets to bring its cost-to-income ratio into the mid-40s by FY28 and to lift return on tangible equity toward 12 per cent by FY28 and 13 per cent by FY30.

“The result announced today confirms our actions to reset the bank are working, but we have more to do," says Matos.

"As we look ahead, we continue to focus on executing our ANZ 2030 strategy as we progress our five-year journey to be the best bank for customers and shareholders in Australia and New Zealand."