Top 20 largest Australian financial companies 2021

The financial sector is an important element of Australia, powering the activity of all its economy. Banks, insurance, and financial services companies guarantee financial transactions, circulation of capital, credit, risk mitigation, investments, and the reliability of financial information.

The major Australian financial institutions are involved in a variety of operations that include the movement of money and capital in commercial transactions. Providing sought-after high-value-added goods and services aimed at high returns on investment, Australian financial businesses face intense competition from both domestic and overseas financial sector competitors.

Dominated by the largest banks, the competition for market share between banks, insurance companies, financial services corporations, and other financial actors produces a highly competitive environment. Financial businesses specialize, diversify, and acquire others in order to maximize profits, reduce expenses, better hedge risks, identify safer assets, and preserve their competitive advantage.

Aside from conventional rivalry from corporations in the various financial industries, one of the most important problems that the industry is currently facing is the disruption of established businesses by new FinTech and InsurTech startups. And, among the top Australian startups, some have already grown to become “unicorns” (startups valued at more than $1 billion), posing a serious challenge to traditional financial actors.

For now, the largest conventional financial institutions continue to play an important role in the Australian economy, and despite these new difficulties, the bulk of them will remain in place in the foreseeable future. With the importance of financial companies in Australia, which includes seven companies in the top 30 Australian companies, Australian financial firms will maintain their strength and continue to compete domestically while also using their capital and knowledge to develop abroad.

For more information on the largest Australian companies, download our ASX 200 companies Excel file containing the complete list of the 200 Australian companies that constitute the S&P/ASX 200 index, together with extensive business, market, financial, and digital information on each company. For even more data on the largest Australian companies, download our Excel file on the All Ordinaries companies (500 companies).

Download the ASX 200 companies Excel
Download the All Ordinaries [500 companies] Excel

Check our data platform for the latest ranking of Australian financial companies.

List of the top 20 largest Australian financial companies by market capitalization

For a broad perspective on the actors of the financial sector in Australia, details about the twenty largest Australian financial companies have been listed hereafter. Each company is detailed with presentations of its industry, activities, market capitalization, a direct link to its website, logo, and stock symbol.

The financial companies listed hereafter are ranked by market capitalization in Australian Dollars, as of effective close on Friday, April 2, 2021. They are defined as belonging to specific industries of banking, insurance, or other financial services.

For more information on other world-leading companies, check our series of posts on Top Companies, and for more information on the country, read our articles on Top Business Resources for Australia.

Note that if you are searching for information on these companies to invest in their stocks, make sure you know what you are doing as your investment will be subject to significant risks with the evolution of stock prices. To learn more about investing in the stock market and managing your portfolio, check our post on the best online courses on stock investing and trading.

Shortcuts to each financial company

To facilitate your browsing in this long list, here are quick links to go directly to the details of any of the top 20 Australian financial companies. Be sure to also check the Top 10 Australian financial companies’ summary after the list!

20. Netwealth

Industry: Capital Markets

Netwealth Group Limited is a financial services company and wealth management company. It offers accumulation and retirement income products, managed funds, deposits, and portfolio services, advice, licensee, and private wealth solutions, and investment products for self-managed super funds and high-net-worth individuals.

Website: netwealth.com.au – Market Cap.: A$3.304 Billion – Stock ticker: NWL

19. Steadfast

Industry: Insurance Brokers

Steadfast Group Limited is an insurance company. It provides general insurance brokerage services in Australia, Asia, and Europe, insurance underwriting services, and related services, through a network of more than 450 general insurance brokers and 25 underwriting agencies.

Website: steadfast.com.au – Market Cap.: A$3.312 Billion – Stock ticker: SDF

18. Zip

Industry: Credit Services

Zip Co Limited is a firm that specializes in financial technology. It provides comprehensive retail financing solutions to merchants in retail, education, health, and travel, as well as point-of-sale credit and digital payment services to customers and merchants. It has operations in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa, the Czech Republic, and the UAE.

Website: zip.co – Market Cap.: A$4.266 Billion – Stock ticker: Z1P

17. Challenger

Industry: Life Insurance

Challenger Limited is an investment management company. It manages equity mutual funds, investing in the public equity markets across the world, and provides retirement services to its clients. Based in Australia, it also operates in Asia and the United Kingdom.

Website: challenger.com.au – Market Cap.: A$4.394 Billion – Stock ticker: CGF

16. AMP

Industry: Asset Management

AMP Limited is a wealth management company operating in Australia and internationally. Tracing its origins to 1849, it provides financial advice and platform administration services, as well as retirement income and managed investment products to individuals. It also handles investments in infrastructure debt, infrastructure equity, real estate, equities, and stocks.

Website: amp.com.au – Market Cap.: A$4.553 Billion – Stock ticker: AMP

15. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank

Industry: Regional Banks

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited is a bank. It offers banking and financial services to retail clients as well as small and medium-sized enterprises in Australia, including personal and business banking, financial planning, commercial mortgages and unsecured loans, investment goods, and insurance.

Website: bendigoadelaide.com.au – Market Cap.: A$5.448 Billion – Stock ticker: BEN

14. BOQ

Industry: Regional Banks

The Bank of Queensland, abbreviated as BOQ, is a retail bank. It offers personal financial products and services such as savings and term deposits, debit and credit cards, loans, and travel, house and contents, property, and vehicle insurance in more than 160 locations across Australia.

Website: boq.com.au – Market Cap.: A$5.532 Billion – Stock ticker: BOQ

13. Argo Investments

Industry: Asset Management

Argo Investments Limited is a fund management firm. It was founded in 1946 and manages equities portfolios for its customers, investing in Australia’s public equity markets using in-house qualitative analysis and a bottom-up stock selecting strategy to construct its portfolio.

Website: argoinvestments.com.au – Market Cap.: A$6.162 Billion – Stock ticker: ARG

12. Medibank

Industry: Diversified Insurance

Medibank Private Limited is an integrated healthcare and health insurance company. It provides private health insurance products such as hospital, dental, optical, and physiotherapy coverage, as well as coverage for international visitors and students. It also offers health management and telemedicine services to government and corporate clients, and travel, life, and pet insurance.

Website: medibank.com.au – Market Cap.: A$7.821 Billion – Stock ticker: MPL

11. Magellan

Industry: Asset Management

Magellan Financial Group Limited is an investment management company. It is particularly focused on investing in high-quality global stocks that ride on global economic trends such as the rise of new emerging consumers, the advent of cashless society, the recovery of the US housing market, the dominance of business software giants, and new digital consumer platforms.

Website: magellangroup.com.au – Market Cap.: A$8.39 Billion – Stock ticker: MFG

10. AFIC

Industry: Asset Management

Australian Foundation Investment Company Limited, more simply known as AFIC, is an investment management company. Founded in 1928, it invests in value stocks companies through public equity markets of Australia and New Zealand based upon its in-house fundamental analysis.

Website: afi.com.au – Market Cap.: A$9.046 Billion – Stock ticker: AFI

9. IAG

Industry: Property & Casualty Insurance

Insurance Australia Group, also known as IAG, is a multinational insurance company. It is the parent organization holding many well-known insurance brands in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Website: iag.com.au – Market Cap.: A$11.808 Billion – Stock ticker: IAG

8. Suncorp

Industry: Property & Casualty Insurance

Suncorp Group Limited is a finance, insurance, and banking corporation. Founded in 1902, Suncorp is one of the largest general insurance companies in Australia, also operating as a mid-size bank. It has operations in both Australia and New Zealand.

Website: suncorpgroup.com.au – Market Cap.: A$13.126 Billion – Stock ticker: SUN

7. ASX

Industry: Financial Data & Stock Exchanges

The Australian Securities Exchange, often abbreviated as ASX, is the primary stock exchange in Australia. It operates the trading of securities on the market, including company shares, futures, and derivatives, and traded funds, and also works as a clearinghouse and payments system facilitator.

Website: asx.com.au – Market Cap.: A$13.759 Billion – Stock ticker: ASX

6. QBE Insurance

Industry: Property & Casualty Insurance

QBE Insurance Group Limited is a global insurance company. Tracing its origins to 1886, QBE Insurance Group operates in general insurance and reinsurance services in Australia, North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific region.

Website: qbe.com – Market Cap.: A$14.427 Billion – Stock ticker: QBE

5. Macquarie Group

Industry: Capital Markets

Macquarie Group Limited is a multinational independent investment bank and financial services company. Employing more than 14,000 staff in 25 countries, Macquarie is the world’s largest infrastructure asset manager and top-ranked mergers and acquisitions advisor in Australia. It also manages more than A$ 495 billion in assets.

Website: macquarie.com – Market Cap.: A$55.055 Billion – Stock ticker: MQG

4. ANZ

Industry: Diversified Banks

The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, commonly called ANZ, is a multinational bank. The third-largest bank in Australia by market capitalization, ANZ is the largest bank in New Zealand, and it is also present in 34 other nations.

Website: anz.com – Market Cap.: A$80.358 Billion – Stock ticker: ANZ

3. NAB

Industry: Diversified Banks

National Australia Bank, commonly known and branded as NAB, is a multinational bank. Heavily present in Australia through business and personal banking, direct banking through the internet, and financial services, NAB is also very present in New Zealand and in other countries of Asia.

Website: nab.com.au – Market Cap.: A$86.093 Billion – Stock ticker: NAB

2. Westpac

Industry: Diversified Banks

Westpac Banking Corporation, commonly known as Westpac, is a bank and provider of financial services. Founded in 1817, Westpac now gathers more than 14 million customers in five divisions: consumer banking, commercial and business banking, wealth management, institutional banking, and Westpac New Zealand.

Website: westpac.com.au – Market Cap.: A$88.598 Billion – Stock ticker: WBC

1. CommBank

Industry: Diversified Banks

Founded in 1911, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, abbreviated CBA or CommBank, is a multinational bank providing services in retail, business, and institutional banking, funds management, superannuation, insurance, investment, and brokerage services. It operates across Australia, and abroad in New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Website: commbank.com.au – Market Cap.: A$152.945 Billion – Stock ticker: CBA

Summary: Top 10 Australian Financial Companies 2021

For a quick overview of the largest Australian financial companies in 2021, here is a synthesizing image regrouping the information of the top 10. Note that you can use this image to embed it on your website and other digital properties using the embed code below.

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Here are the 20 largest Australian financial companies. Do you think they are worth their market capitalization? Do they provide a valuable and convenient service? Do they have too much economic power… and maybe political power too?

Leave your comments below!