Commonwealth Bank could hand the billions generated from asset sales back to shareholders, but won't start making plans until after Chinese regulators give one of its major divestments the green light.
CBA is waiting for authorities in China to approve the $668 million sale of its 37.5 per cent stake in BoComm Life, with its $3.8 billion deal to sell its local life insurance businesses conditional upon the move.
Chief executive Matt Comyn said on Wednesday that CBA would only announce capital management plans once those deals are secure.
"The Chinese regulatory approval for the sale of BoComm Life is taking longer than expected and that's the only remaining precedent on the sale of our domestic life insurance business," Mr Comyn told analysts.
"You don't tend to make applications to do capital management in advance of actually receiving the proceeds."
Announcing a 2.1 per cent fall in first-half cash profit, CBA on Wednesday said its common equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 10.8 per cent at December 31.
That's above the 10.5 per cent "unquestionably strong" benchmark the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has told banks to reach by 2020.
Morgan Stanley's head of research for Australia, Richard Wiles, estimated that the divestment program would leave Commonwealth Bank with between $4 billion and $6 billion in excess capital.
"You've got a five per cent earnings hole from the asset sales, so if you don't do capital management, your EPS (earnings per share) is under pressure," Mr Wiles said.
Rival ANZ announced a $1.5 billion share buyback in December 2017 upon completing the $1.8 billion sale of its stake in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank.
Its CET1 capital ratio had been 10.6 per cent at the end of its prior reporting period.
Mr Comyn stressed no plans were yet in place.
"If and when we feel that's in the interests of shareholders, that would be a board decision and of course we'll announce that immediately afterwards," Mr Comyn said.
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