Market analysis
Shorting Australian Bank Stocks: Positions Have Tripled
Reported short positions in CBA, Westpac, NAB and ANZ were valued at $15.1 billion on 15 October 2026, against $4.1 billion a year earlier. Here is ASIC’s data, bank by bank, and what a bank short costs to hold.
Ben Ebsworth12 min read
Short positions in Australia's four biggest banks have more than tripled in a year. ASIC's report for 15 October 2026 shows 262.2 million CBA, Westpac, NAB and ANZ shares sold short, valued at $15.1 billion at that day's closes, against 71.4 million shares and $4.1 billion on 15 October 2025.
ASIC published the 15 October file on 21 October, four trading days after the position date, so every short-position figure here is at least six days behind the market. The dollar figures multiply each day's reported shares short by that day's closing price. They are the value of reported short positions, not a measure of anyone's exposure, risk or profit. What a short position is and how one is opened in Australia are covered in Shorted's guides; this piece is about what the data on the banks shows.
The big four on 15 October 2026
- value of reported short positions at the 15 October closes
- $15.1bn
- $4.1bn on 15 October 2025
- CBA, Westpac, NAB and ANZ shares reported short
- 262.2m
- 71.4m a year earlier
- NAB shares short on 14 October, its largest position in ASIC's daily series
- 69.2m
- series begins 16 June 2010
Westpac has the most shares short and the highest percentage, 2.94% of its shares on issue. CBA has the largest value: its 43.9 million shares are fewer than half Westpac's 100.4 million but are worth nearly twice as much, because CBA closed at $156.15 on 15 October and Westpac at $35.71.
The increase is in the number of shares, not the price. On unadjusted closes, CBA, Westpac and NAB finished 15 October 2026 between 6% and 9% lower than a year earlier and ANZ 8% higher, so the value of the four positions (up 3.65 times) moved almost exactly with the share count (up 3.67 times).
A build that ran all year
| Bank | 31 Oct 2025 | 30 Jan 2026 | 30 Apr 2026 | 31 Jul 2026 | 15 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBA | 0.63% | 0.90% | 1.64% | 2.00% | 2.62% |
| Westpac | 0.58% | 0.81% | 1.57% | 1.81% | 2.94% |
| NAB | 0.45% | 0.81% | 1.21% | 1.29% | 2.20% |
| ANZ | 0.82% | 0.61% | 1.02% | 0.90% | 1.63% |
Each column but the last is the final ASIC report of its month. The four did not move together:
- CBA's position rose from one month end to the next in every month but June. Its largest rise came in May, from 1.64% to 2.10%.
- Westpac made the biggest monthly rise of the four all year in September: 2.14% to 2.80%, or 22.5 million more shares short in a month.
- NAB had the biggest monthly fall: 1.87% at the end of June to 1.29% at the end of July, 17.1 million fewer shares, before it rebuilt to 2.03% by 30 September.
- ANZ was lower at the end of February 2026 (0.63%) than at the end of October 2025 (0.82%), and most of its rise came after July. Its 1.63% on 15 October is its highest reading since March 2019.
Records, stated carefully
ASIC's daily series begins with positions held on 16 June 2010. Measured over the whole of it, each bank's records tell a different story.
| Bank | Highest % of shares on issue | Date | Most shares short | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBA | 2.65% | 14 Oct 2026 | 45.0m | 25 Feb 2016 |
| Westpac | 2.99% | 10 May 2016 | 101.5m | 14 Oct 2026 |
| NAB | 2.22% | 14 Oct 2026 | 69.2m | 14 Oct 2026 |
| ANZ | 3.46% | 10 May 2016 | 101.0m | 10 May 2016 |
- NAB holds both records, set on 14 October 2026. Its highs before 2026 were 1.98% and 52.3 million shares, on 16 May 2016. It passed the share count on 29 May 2026 and the percentage on 29 September, then set new highs in both measures on 10 of the 12 reports from 29 September to 14 October.
- CBA's 2.65% on 14 October is its highest share of capital. It first went past its 2016 high (2.63%, 25 February) on 8 October; its 15 October reading, 2.62%, is back below it. In shares, February 2016's 45.0 million is still its most; 14 October's 44.3 million fell short.
- Westpac's 101.5 million shares on 14 October is its largest count. It first went past its 2016 high (99.8 million, 10 May) on 9 October. Its percentage on 14 October, 2.97%, is still below 2016's 2.99%.
- ANZ holds neither. Its records, 3.46% and 101.0 million shares on 10 May 2016, are about twice its current levels.
Taken together, the four had 263.7 million shares short on 14 October, the most on any day since May 2016 but still below the 277.3 million of 10 May 2016.
The regionals
| Bank | 15 Oct 2025 | 15 Oct 2026 | 2026 high | Highest in the series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bendigo and Adelaide | 1.99% | 5.60% | 5.84%, 12 Oct | 9.96%, 5 Mar 2020 |
| Bank of Queensland | 2.59% | 3.97% | 5.32%, 27 Apr | 13.03%, 1 Nov 2019 |
| Judo Capital | 1.31% | 2.81% | 3.60%, 26 Jun | 3.60%, 26 Jun 2026 |
Of the banks on Shorted's banks page, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank was the most shorted on 15 October, at 5.60% (32.6 million shares). Tyro Payments, which holds an APRA banking authorisation but which Shorted files under financial services, was higher, at 6.58%. Bendigo crossed 5% on 31 August 2026 for the first time since March 2021, fell back below it for five reports in early September, and has been above it on every report since 10 September. It has been more heavily shorted before: its position averaged between 5.0% and 6.9% in each calendar year from 2016 to 2020, more than the 15 October reading in all but 2019, and peaked at 9.96% on 5 March 2020.
Bank of Queensland's 13.03% on 1 November 2019 is the highest reading for any bank in this piece. BOQ reached 5.32% on 27 April 2026 and was at 3.97% on 15 October, down from 4.34% the day before. Judo Capital's 2.81% compares with 1.31% a year earlier; its high, 3.60% on 26 June 2026, tops a series that starts on 1 November 2021. MyState, at 0.24% on 15 October, barely registers.
What a bank short costs to hold
A short seller borrows the shares it sells, and the lender keeps the economic benefits of owning them, dividends included, as the Reserve Bank's 2014 study of the lending market describes. A short position that is open over an ex-dividend date pays the lender an amount equal to the dividend: a manufactured dividend, which the ATO calls a dividend equivalence payment.
The payment carries no franking credits. The ATO's Taxpayer Alert TA 2018/1 notes that borrowing shares from non-residents over a dividend is generally cheaper, because non-residents do not require a gross-up for franking credits when a dividend equivalence payment is made.
| Bank | Last two dividends | Share of 15 Oct close | Next ex-dividend date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBA | $2.35 and $2.70 | 3.2% | 17 Feb 2027 |
| Westpac | 77c and 77c | 4.3% | 5 Nov 2026 |
| NAB | 85c and 85c | 4.3% | 10 Nov 2026 |
| ANZ | 83c and 83c | 4.3% | 12 Nov 2026 |
A position held over both ex-dividend dates in a year pays lenders roughly that share of its value. The borrow fee, which the borrower pays the lender, comes on top, and it does not appear in ASIC's data. The cost of shorting guide covers borrow fees, margin and recall risk. Dividend amounts are from CBA, Westpac, NAB and ANZ.
The other constraint is liquidity. Days to cover divides the reported position by average daily volume, so it measures a position against the stock's turnover: the number of sessions buying it back would take if every share traded went to covering.
- CBA22.4 days
- Bendigo and Adelaide21.5 days
- Westpac20.5 days
- NAB14.2 days
- Bank of Queensland12.9 days
- ANZ11.1 days
- Judo Capital6.0 days
These are Shorted's figures for the banks with a current share price and more than 1% of their shares reported short. CBA ranks first, although its position is the smallest of the big four in shares, because CBA trades fewer shares: about 2.0 million a day over the period, against 4.4 to 4.9 million for each of the other three. Bendigo and Westpac are close behind, both above 20 days.
What the data cannot tell you
2008, 2016 and the long record
During the global financial crisis, ASIC banned covered short selling in financial stocks, the banks among them, for eight months. It announced on Friday 19 September 2008 that naked short sales would not be permitted from the following Monday's open (08-204). By the open on Monday 22 September, it had widened the ban to covered short sales in all listed stocks (08-205).
ASIC lifted the covered ban for non-financial stocks from 19 November 2008 (AD08-65). It kept it for financial securities, defined as the S&P/ASX 200 Financials index, property funds included, plus five other APRA-regulated businesses, until 25 May 2009 (10-86AD). Most naked short selling stayed banned for good. ASIC's 2012 review (REP 302) found the measures "broadly met their regulatory objectives", while noting they may have contributed to "reduced liquidity and increased price volatility".
There is no position record from the ban. ASIC's first aggregated report covered positions held on 16 June 2010, and the big banks' previous peak came in 2016, six years into the series. On 10 May 2016 ANZ had 3.46% of its shares reported short and Westpac 2.99%, both still their percentage records. NAB's 2016 high came six days later, at 1.98%, and CBA's on 25 February, at 2.63%.
The Widow-Maker, Shorted's feature on the bear case for Australian housing, covers the 2016 trade and the case made for it.
What to watch next
Westpac, NAB and ANZ have 30 September year ends, and each declares a final dividend with its full-year result:
Each bank notes that its dates can change. CBA has a 30 June year end; its next result is the half-year, on 10 February 2027, and its next ex-dividend date is 17 February 2027, according to its financial calendar. That calendar lists no quarterly trading updates for FY2027; the first-quarter update for FY2026 came on 11 November 2025.
Read any covering or building through the lag: a position held on a result day appears in ASIC's file four trading days later. The banks industry page ranks the banks it tracks by their latest positions, each stock's short-interest tab charts the full series (CBA, Westpac, NAB, ANZ), and the statistics page tracks the big-four basket daily. For what results have done to crowded positions in other stocks, see the reporting-season guide.
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Short-position figures are from ASIC's daily aggregate reports for the position dates shown (the latest 15 October 2026, published 21 October 2026; 15 October 2025 figures as revised by ASIC), as a percentage of shares on issue. Dollar values are reported shares short multiplied by the same day's unadjusted close from Shorted's price data; the statistics page, which applies each percentage to the latest market capitalisation, put the same 15 October positions at $14.7 billion (viewed 21 October). Days to cover is Shorted's calculation. Dividends and dates are from each bank's investor pages. A reported position records the size of short interest, not the intentions of those holding it. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
