According to an article in The Banker magazine, the big four Australian banks have to look outside of Australia for growth.The big four banks in Australia are ANZ (OTC: ANZBY), Commonwealth Bank (OTC:CMWAY), National Australia Bank (OTC:NABZY) and Westpac(WBK). As the domestic market is dominated by these four banks they are more likely to depend on growth in foreign markets especially in Asia.

Some key points from the Banker article:

In the past 18 months the number of second-tier banks has almost halved due to M&A

The Big Four banks hold 73.8% of outstanding mortgages in Australia

ANZ Banking is expanding fast in Asia targeting high net worth retail customers particularly in India and China

“NAB owns Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank in the UK and community bank Great Western in the US. Westpac has strong retail operations in several Pacific island nations. And CBA owns Fiji’s Colonial National Bank, and has minority stakes in China’s Jinan City Commercial Bank and Hangzhou City Commercial Bank. ”

The current dividend yields of the big four Aussie banks areas follows:

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (OTC:ANZBY)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.96%

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC: CMWAY)
Current Dividend Yield: N/A

National Australia Bank (OTC:NABZY)
Current Dividend Yield: 5.45%

Westpac Banking Corp (WBK)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.73%