Westpac Banking

Westpac's stock plunged about 5.1% to A$35.98 after the bank reported an average decline in monthly mortgage applications of 20% to roughly 26,000 between 15 May and 31 July. Investor applications fell 26%, while owner-occupier applications fell 18%. Westpac blames changes to property tax settings (including negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions) for the slowdown and expects investor loan growth to slow from 9.1% (2026) to 4.5% (2027) and 4.4% (2028). Quarterly cash earnings were around A$1.8bn, marginally below the prior year; bank competition and margin pressure are additional headwinds. » More on de.investing.com

Westpac reports an adjusted net profit of $3.5bn for the first half of 2026, virtually unchanged from the previous half, with loans and deposits each rising by about 7%. The net interest margin fell slightly, which, together with higher risk provisions (impairment charges $443m, total risk buffer $5.2bn), weighed on the share price (-4.83%). The CET1 ratio stands at 12.4%; an interim dividend of 77 cents was announced. Westpac highlights progress on the UNITE transformation program but warns of headwinds from weaker economic forecasts and regulatory changes. » More on de.investing.com

Westpac reports H1 2026 net profit before one-offs of 3.5 billion AUD (+1%) with earnings per share of 1 AUD, which missed expectations by a wide margin. Revenue rose to 26.31 billion AUD, comfortably beating forecasts, driven by strong balance-sheet growth. The stock fell about 2.1% in pre-market trading, while RoTE remained stable at 11% and the cost-to-income ratio improved slightly to 51.7%. » More on de.investing.com