Commonwealth Bank of Australia Increases Provisions as 3Q Profit Slips

By Stuart Condie

SYDNEY--Commonwealth Bank of Australia increased provisions against potential bad debts by about US$145 million, citing uncertainty generated by the Iran conflict as the lender's quarterly profit slipped lower.

Australia's largest bank by market capitalization on Wednesday posted an unaudited cash profit for the three months through March of 2.7 billion Australian dollars, equivalent to US$1.23 billion.

That was up 4% on the same period a year earlier, but down by 1% on the average of the prior two quarters. It said operating income was flat and underlying net interest margin was stable.

It increased forward-looking provisioning by A$200 million over the fiscal third quarter, or about 8 basis points of its gross loans and acceptances. CBA had A$6.5 billion of total provisions at March 31, A$5.7 billion of it collective.

Chief Executive Matt Comyn said the lender would continue to closely monitor the impacts of the Middle East conflict and the broader macroeconomic environment.

"Supply chain disruptions, higher prices and interest rates are expected to weigh on household spending and business activity. We will continue to adjust our settings as appropriate," Comyn said.

Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 12, 2026 18:50 ET (22:50 GMT)