CBA is closing the gap on NAB in business banking

National Australia Bank has traditionally been Australia’s main business bank. For more than two decades, NAB has held a leading position in business lending, supported by a large specialist business banking network and strong franchises in areas such as agriculture, health and commercial property.

That leadership remains intact. But Commonwealth Bank is getting closer.

APRA’s August 2026 banking statistics show NAB with $278.2 billion of loans to non-financial businesses, equivalent to 21.7 per cent of the Australian banking market.

CBA now has $250.6 billion, or 19.6 per cent.

The gap between the two banks is therefore just 2.2 percentage points. In August 2020 it was 4.6 percentage points, when NAB held 21.6 per cent of the market and CBA only 17.0 per cent.

Importantly, NAB has not surrendered market share. Its share is almost exactly where it was six years ago. Instead, CBA has grown considerably faster than the market.

Over the past year, CBA’s business lending increased 15.2 per cent, compared with 10.8 per cent for NAB and 10.3 per cent across the banking system. CBA added $33.1 billion of business loans in twelve months, compared with $27.2 billion for NAB.

This is consistent with a deliberate expansion by CBA. The bank reported earlier this year that its Business Banking lending balances had increased 87 per cent, or $78 billion, over six years.

NAB still has the largest business loan book and retains the specialist business banking franchise it has built over decades.

But the competitive landscape is changing.

Six years ago, NAB’s business lending market share was 27 per cent larger than CBA’s. Today the difference is only 11 per cent.

If current trends persist, the contest for Australia’s largest business lender will become considerably closer.