The Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX: CBA) share price is down around 1% after Australia’s biggest ASX bank share reported its quarterly update to March 2023.
CBA FY23 third quarter
Here are some of the highlights for the three months to March 2023.
- Statutory net profit after tax of $2.6 billion
- Cash net profit of $2.6 billion – up 10% year on year, and up 1% compared to the FY23 first half quarterly average
- Lower net interest margin due to competitive pressures
- Loan impairment expense of $223 million
- Home lending growth of 5.2% year on year, the same as the overall lending system
- Business lending growth was 12% year on year, this was 1.3x the overall lending system
CBA said that the net interest margin (NIM) reduced during the quarter. The NIM explains the profitability of a bank’s lending, comparing the cost (eg savings accounts) against the lending rate (eg mortgages).
The bank said that there was a lower margin because of competitive pressures on its home loans and deposits, “partly offset by the benefit of rising cash rates on transaction deposits”.
However, overall income was flat, driven by volume growth and higher non-interest income, offset by two fewer days in the quarter and lower NIM.
Interestingly, the business bank contributed around 40% of total cash net profit. That could be good news for the CBA share price.
Expenses were “flat”, and down 1% excluding remediation. There were lower staff costs, partly offset by a higher IT spend, marketing spend and New Zealand flood relief payments.
Provisions and arrears
CBA said that its loan impairment expense was $223 million, with collective and individual provisions “slightly higher”. Portfolio credit quality remained “sound”, with credit provisions “increasing slightly” to further strengthen its balance sheet position as financial conditions “continue to tighten”.
Personal loan arrears over 90 days increased from 0.95% at December 2022 to 1.09% at March 2023. Credit card arrears over 90 days increased from 0.46% at December 2022 to 0.51% to March 2023. Home Loan arrears over 90 days went up from 0.43% at December 2022 to 0.44% at March 2023. So, it seems higher interest rates are starting to bite.
Final thoughts on the CBA share price
CBA’s CEO Matt Comyn said that many of its customers are feeling the strain of higher interest rates and the rising cost of living. But, its balance sheet and the Australian economy are in good shape. Australia is benefiting from a recovery of population growth and relatively high commodity prices.
The bank is positive about the medium-term. I think CBA is a very strong bank, but I don’t think it is going to be able to deliver a lot of growth in the next few years. Its valuation seems pricey compared to other ASX bank shares.
There are other ASX dividend shares I’d rather invest in.
