Australian banks' debt risk rises to highest in 9 months

Sydney

DEFAULT risk for Australia's biggest banks has risen to a nine-month high as the economy struggles amid tumbling commodity prices and wilting business confidence.

The average cost to insure debt issued by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Westpac Banking Corp, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) and National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) climbed as high as 71.1 basis points on Jan 6, a level unseen since April 2014, credit-default swap prices compiled by CMA show. That's up from a six-year low of 43.8 basis points in September.