Australia’s worst bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, loses its bull

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the world's least popular megabank among analysts, has lost its last remaining bull.

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The country's biggest lender, which has the worst consensus rating among banks of $20 billion, now has zero buy-equivalent recommendations after a downgrade by Jefferies Financial Group Inc. The bank warned of a challenging outlook during its full-year earnings results on Wednesday, and the brokerage flagged slowing credit growth and rising cost pressures.

The macro outlook for Australian banks is deteriorating as rising rates crimp credit expansion, Jefferies analysts led by Brian Johnson wrote in a note. The company's net interest margin outlook is being weakened by intense deposit competition.

Australia's largest lenders have passed on the Reserve Bank's record series of interest rate hikes since May, but they are yet to show a significant rise in problem loans even after years of extreme mortgage competition. As the nation's debt-laden consumers struggle with the fastest tightening cycle in a generation, sentiment has taken a cautious turn.

According to Bloomberg, the Commonwealth Bank has no buy ratings, five hold ratings and 10 sell ratings. Australia's three other major lenders have at least six buy ratings.

The CBA shares fell by as much as 0.8% on Thursday, compared to an up to 1.2% gain in the benchmark S&P ASX 200 Index.

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