CommBank closing in on NAB in business lending

Ian Rogers
CBA, NAB

Outpacing NAB in growth in business lending, Commonwealth Bank may not be far away from stealing National Australia Bank’s crown as the biggest business bank.

CBA recorded growth in business lending of more than 12 per cent over the year to April 2025, a growth rate that is accelerating, and NAB 7 per cent, the monthly banking statistics from APRA show.

CommBank’s business lending book at April was $213 billion.

NAB’s business lending book was $238 billion.

Over three years CBA’s business lending has increased by 34 per cent while NAB’s has increased by 20 per cent.

NAB has long played up its status as the biggest business bank, but – on the business deposits side anyway – ceded this status to CBA several years ago.

CBA says it banks more than one in four Australian businesses and that 26.5 per cent of businesses cite CBA as their main financial institution. For NAB, 18.5 per cent say the bank is their MFI.

NAB’s share of total business lending was 21.1 per cent at April 2025, and CBA’s share was 18.9 per cent. Westpac’s share was 15.7 per cent and ANZ’s 13.2 per cent.