Does a fall in CBA price offer a buying opportunity for long term investors

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) 

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) on 13 May 2026 released its March Quarter 2026 Trading Update and said the bank remains financially strong despite global uncertainty and pressure on households and businesses. Rising energy costs and interest rates continue to affect spending while conflict in the Middle East is creating supply chain disruption across markets. The bank stated that its balance sheet remains solid with strong capital, liquidity, deposit funding and provisions. Customer deposits made up 79% of total funding and the group had already raised A$32 billion in long-term wholesale funding during FY26. The bank also increased collective provisions during the quarter because of growing geopolitical and economic risks.

The unaudited statutory net profit after tax of about A$2.6 billion for the quarter whereas cash net profit after tax was around A$2.7 billion. Cash earnings were down 1% compared with the average quarterly result in the first half of FY26 though they were 4% higher than the same period a year earlier. Operating income stayed steady as lending and deposit growth balanced the effect of two fewer trading days. Net interest income improved slightly due to stronger lending and deposits along with higher deposit margins. Retail transaction accounts rose by more than 170,000 during the quarter and home loan funding reached A$45 billion. Business banking also expanded with business transaction accounts increasing 7% from the prior comparable period to 1.4 million accounts.

Operating expenses excluding notable items increased 1% mainly because of greater cloud computing use, software costs and investment in artificial intelligence capabilities. These increases were partly reduced by productivity initiatives and the impact of fewer trading days. Loan impairment expense was A$316 million after the bank lifted the forward-looking part of collective provisions by A$200 million. Consumer arrears moved slightly higher during the quarter with home loan, credit card and personal loan arrears all increasing. Corporate troublesome and non-performing exposures also increased to A$6.5 billion. Even with these movements the bank said actual loan losses remained low and overall portfolio quality stayed sound.

The bank maintained strong capital and liquidity settings through the quarter. The Liquidity Coverage Ratio stood at 133% whereas the Net Stable Funding Ratio was 116% both comfortably above regulatory minimums. The CET1 capital ratio was 11.6% as of 31 March 2026 which remained above APRA’s required level of 10.25%. During the quarter the bank paid A$3.9 billion in dividends to shareholders and also completed around A$530 million in share purchases to offset the dividend reinvestment plan impact. 

(Source: Company Report)