16 August 2012 7:22am

The institutional banking business at Commonwealth Bank is making one of its periodic pushes to lift its market share, an effort that on this occasion may enjoy the support of the bank's CEO.

At yesterday's investor briefing, to review CBA's profit for the year to June 2012, CEO Ian Narev emphasised the opportunity ahead of the bank as global banks scale back their investment in Australia.

One sell-side analyst asked why the bank was pursuing a strategy that was "balance sheet led" and "increas[ing] the risk profile".

Narev countered, saying that the growth in lending...