Commonwealth Bank posts $5bn profit as Australian households struggle. Here are four things we learned

Commonwealth Bank expects an interest rate ‘easing cycle’ to start and believes the RBA will cut the cash rate by 25 basis points in each quarter of 2025. CBA has announced a $5.13bn half-year profit. Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Commonwealth Bank delivered a bumper $5.13bn half-year cash profit on Wednesday, even as a rising number of indebted Australian households grapple with steeply increasing living costs.

Here are four things we learned about Australia’s biggest bank, its customers and the broader economy from its latest financials.