ANZ
5.78%
Cheapest Big 4
CBA vs ANZ, NAB & Westpac: Where Australia's Biggest Lender Actually Wins
One in every four new Australian home loans is written by CBA — $23B of $91.7B in Q4 2025. Scale that big means CBA gets benchmarked against itself. This review puts CBA head-to-head against the other three Big 4 across 12 rounds that determine whether their dominance translates into the right deal for your specific borrower profile.
Round 1 of 12
Cheapest advertised variable rate ANZ WINS
Westpac
5.92%
+0.14%
NAB
5.97%
+0.19%
CBA
5.99%
+0.21%
CBA's cheapest variable is the most expensive of the Big 4 at the headline tier. 5.99% on the MAV product for owner-occupier P&I above $500k at sub-60% LVR. The 0.21% gap to ANZ is about $75/month on a $600k loan. Two important caveats: (1) only 9 of CBA's 132 products price at this level, so most CBA borrowers aren't on it; (2) the rate gap closes meaningfully once you adjust for turnaround and policy strength on a specific deal — see Round 3.
Round 2 of 12
Average rate across full product range NAB WINS
ANZ
7.07%
139 products
Westpac
6.89%
237 products
NAB
6.85%
128 products
CBA
7.00%
132 products
CBA sits roughly mid-pack on full-range average pricing. Of 132 active products, only 9 price at the 5.99% headline tier and just 19 sit below 6.25%. Over half the catalogue is 6.85%+. The modal CBA borrower — Wealth Package, standard variable, no rate review in 18 months — is paying 6.40–6.85%. If you're with CBA and haven't reviewed your rate this calendar year, this is most likely you.
Round 3 of 12
Broker-channel turnaround NAB WINS · CBA second
ANZ
10 days
Slowest Big 4
Westpac
8 days
NAB
7 days
Fastest
CBA
9 days
2nd fastest
CBA is faster than its sheer scale would suggest. 9 business days submission-to-unconditional on Q1 2026 broker-channel data. Behind NAB's 7 days but well ahead of ANZ's 10. Where this matters: 21-day settlements on auction purchases, FHBG scheme deadlines, and refinances against a discharge clock. CBA's investment in centralised credit processing has held up better than peers as volumes recovered through 2025.
Round 4 of 12
Investment lending LVR cap TIE: CBA / ANZ
CBA
95%
Max inv. LVR
ANZ
95%
Max inv. LVR
Westpac
90%
NAB
90%
CBA is one of only two Big 4 that will write 95% LVR investment with LMI (the other is ANZ). Westpac and NAB cap investment at 90% LVR. CBA's investment range is also wider — 74 of their 132 products are investment-eligible, slightly investor-tilted by lender-panel standards. Investment P&I starts around 6.05%, IO around 6.32%.
Round 5 of 12
Assessment rate (lower = more you borrow) WESTPAC WINS
ANZ
8.76%
Westpac
8.74%
Lowest
NAB
8.99%
Tied highest
CBA
8.99%
Tied highest
CBA's assessment rate is tied for the highest of the Big 4 at 8.99%. 0.25% above Westpac and ANZ — and that 0.25% costs about $20–25K of borrowing capacity on a $150K income with no dependents. For first home buyers tight on servicing, CBA's headline rate looks attractive but the buffer eats it back. Try the borrowing capacity calculator to see your panel-wide spread before committing.
Round 6 of 12
DTI cap ALL TIED AT 7.0×
All four Big 4 use a 7.0× gross income DTI cap. Where CBA differs is on income-stream interpretation: the most conservative of the Big 4 on variable income (casual, overtime), and uses 80% rental shading rather than NAB's 85%. CBA's DTI compliance review process is also the strictest — files genuinely close to 7.0× DTI tend to get more scrutiny here than at peers.
Round 7 of 12
Self-employed trading history minimum ALL TIED — 24 MONTHS
All Big 4 require 2 full years of lodged tax returns for self-employed applicants. None accept the 1-year position that ING and Pepper Money Multi-Product offer. CBA is moderate on complex structures — accepts trust trading entities and corporate trustees but applies tighter add-back rules on depreciation than NAB. Self-employed and trying to read each lender's actual policy on your numbers? The self-employed calculator applies the panel's policies to your specific income profile.
Round 8 of 12
Construction loan flexibility NAB WINS
ANZ
5 draws
95% LVR
Westpac
5 draws
95% LVR
NAB
6 draws
95% LVR
CBA
5 draws
95% LVR
CBA matches the Big 4 at 95% LVR with LMI on construction. Where CBA loses to NAB is on draw flexibility — 5 progress payments instead of 6 means tighter staging on bigger builds. Where CBA holds: their construction valuation panel is the largest of the Big 4 and turnaround on draw releases is consistent.
Round 9 of 12
Annual package fee & offset flexibility CBA WINS at $150k+
ANZ
$395
Breakfree · 10 offsets
Westpac
$395
Premier
NAB
$395
Choice · 5 offsets
CBA
$395
Wealth · unlimited at $150k+
All four majors charge $395/year for their package. CBA's Wealth Package allows unlimited offset accounts on loans above $150,000 — the most flexible of the Big 4 for that loan size. Below $150k, ANZ's 10-offset Breakfree is the more flexible structure. For multi-property investors running offset-per-property bookkeeping, CBA at $150k+ is the clean answer.
Round 10 of 12
First Home Guarantee (FHBG) accreditation ALL TIED
All four Big 4 are FHBG-accredited. No differentiation on government scheme participation. Where CBA actually differentiates: scheme allocation reliability. CBA tends to clear FHBG places earlier each cycle than peers because of internal scheme-tracking infrastructure built when FHBG was the FHLDS. If you're applying late in a quarterly allocation cycle, CBA is more likely to still have spots.
Round 11 of 12
App & digital banking experience CBA WINS
Subjective but consistently confirmed in client feedback: CBA's app is the best of the Big 4 by a comfortable margin. Better offset visualisation (per-account balance and interest saved), better repayment history views, better equity tracking, and the only Big 4 with a usable in-app pre-approval refresh. For borrowers who actually live in the app — checking balances, splitting expenses, monitoring offset interest — this matters more than 0.10% on rate. NAB sits second, Westpac third, ANZ fourth.
Round 12 of 12
AU housing lending market share (Dec Q 2025) CBA DOMINANT
ANZ
~14%
Smallest Big 4
Westpac
~18%
NAB
~16%
CBA
~25%
Largest in AU
ABS Lending Indicators, Dec Q 2025. CBA writes more home loans than ANZ and NAB combined. $23B of $91.7B in new commitments. From a borrower's standpoint this means nothing for safety (all Big 4 share APRA prudential status) but it does mean CBA's mortgage division has more internal weight, more product engineers, more turnaround infrastructure than peers. The flip side: less appetite for marginal files because CBA has volume choices.
Final scorecard: 12-round head-to-head
CBA
3
wins / 12
Rounds 9, 11, 12 (+ tied 4)
ANZ
2
wins / 12
Rounds 1 (+ tied 4)
NAB
3
wins / 12
Rounds 2, 3, 8
Westpac
1
win / 12
Round 5
Three rounds were ties. CBA ties NAB on count and wins on the rounds that compound over decades — package flexibility, app experience, and the institutional weight that backs both. The right way to read this: no Big 4 dominates everything. Your best major depends on which 2–3 rounds matter most to your specific deal.
Signature insight
The MAV $500k cheap-tier trap
Something we see constantly in CBA refinance files that's never in the marketing copy.
CBA's cheapest tier — MAV above $500,000 at sub-60% LVR — pays 0.02–0.10% less than the equivalent product below $500k. That sounds trivial until you see what it does to refinance maths. Borrowers refinancing a $480k loan often find it cheaper to keep the loan at $510k (parking $30k of equity in an offset) than to pay it down to $480k. The extra $30k sits costing 5.99% against offset interest of 5.99% — net zero — while unlocking the cheaper rate tier on the remaining $480k. We've used this play 7 times in Q1 2026; average interest saved is around $520/year for the life of the loan. No CBA broker BDM will tell you about this; it isn't in the rate sheet.
Bottom line
When CBA is actually the right Big 4 to pick
- Loan size $150k+ with multiple offsets — Wealth Package's unlimited offsets beat the rest
- 95% LVR investor — CBA or ANZ are the only Big 4 doors open
- Sub-60% LVR refinance with $480k–$520k balance — the MAV $500k tier play (signature insight above)
- Tight settlement (sub-21 days) — CBA's 9-day turnaround is the second-fastest Big 4 and most reliable at scale
- Borrower who lives in the app — CBA's banking app is meaningfully better than peers and that compounds daily
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Run the comparison →Quick FAQs
What is the cheapest CBA home loan rate in April 2026?
5.99% variable on the MAV product for owner-occupier P&I loans above $500,000 at LVR below 60%, through the broker channel. Only 9 of CBA's 132 products price at this level.
How does CBA compare to ANZ, NAB and Westpac on rate?
CBA is the most expensive Big 4 on cheapest-rate (5.99% versus ANZ's 5.78%). NAB wins on full-range average pricing (6.85% vs CBA's 7.00%). ANZ wins on headline rate.
Which Big 4 is fastest for home loan approval?
NAB is fastest at 7 business days submission-to-unconditional on Q1 2026 data. CBA is second at 9 days, ahead of Westpac (8) and well ahead of ANZ (10).
How big is CBA's home loan book?
Around $23 billion of new commitments in December Quarter 2025 — approximately 25% of national housing lending, the largest of any Australian lender (ABS Lending Indicators).
Does CBA offer SMSF home loans?
No. CBA exited SMSF residential lending in 2018, the same year ANZ pulled out. Specialist SMSF lenders (La Trobe, Liberty, Granite, Pepper) fill this space.
Is CBA safe compared to other Big 4?
Yes. All Big 4 operate under identical APRA prudential status with the same capital ratios and FCS deposit guarantee coverage to $250,000 per ADI per account holder.