CBA hits business banking targets

Commonwealth Bank has defied the no-growth business banking trend reported by other financial institutions, most notably National Australia Bank earlier this week, with solid growth in business loans and deposits.

Commonwealth Bank increased the size of its business loan portfolio by 3.3 per cent in the 2009/10 financial year, while the overall market contracted 3.7 per cent. SME loan balances were up seven per cent. Business deposits increased 17.9 per cent.

During the year CBA extended its business banking presence to another 23 branches and it has deployed 154 new local business bankers. It formed a specialised agribusiness team.

CBA is competing aggressively for business banking share. It claims the lowest interest rate of residentially secured business loans among the majors.

Combined CBA and BankWest market share in business lending has increased from 19.4 to 19.6 per cent over the past year (based on APRA figures). Share of business deposits has risen from 20.7 to 22.7 per cent over the same period.

Norris said: "When I started at the bank we set about improving our underweight position in business banking. This has been one of our priorities and we have made significant progress."