If we adjust for the unusually low bad debts of recent years, the profitability of Australian banks falls back to around the middle of the international range.
BIS Review 98/2008  1  Overall, when we look at all the evidence, we think it is reasonable to conclude that the Australian financial sector is competitive, and that its performance measures up quite well across a range of international benchmarks. Some commentators have recently been concerned that the financial turmoil of the past year has lessened the degree of competition.