Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has a franking balance that is equal to a whopping 10 per cent of its A$4.9 billion market capitalisation, placing it second to BHP on a list ASX100 companies ranked by the proportion of franking credits to market cap they hold.

A Macquarie report on listed company franking account balances also shows that Bank of Queensland has a big franking balance, equivalent to 5 per cent of its $3.5 billion market cap.

By comparison, Commonwealth Bank has a franking balances equivalent to 1.4 per cent of its $145.1 billion market cap.

Franking credits have no value on a company’s balance sheet and shareholders like to see them distributed. And given the current low interest rate environment, dividends grossed-up by the value of franking credits are very attractive for investors looking for yield.

Macquarie has assessed the likelihood that companies with big franking accounts will make a capital return to clear their franking balances. It said CBA may do something but it does not expect Bendigo and Adelaide or BOQ to take any action.

It said the two small banks would probably not be looking at capital returns until they had a clearer picture of the losses they would sustain when the loan deferral period ends next year.

CBA may return surplus capital from recent divestments.

The Macquarie report also looked at the companies in its stock coverage that pay the highest dividend yields – the sort of table where banks are usually prominent.

However, with the big cuts to bank dividend payouts this year, the only bank in the list of 50 companies is CBA, coming in at number 45 with a yield of 3.7 per cent.

Diversified financial Suncorp comes in at number 35 with a dividend yield of 3.9 per cent.