Commonwealth Bank of Australia's (ASX:CBA) likelihood to maintain a stronger near-term earnings profile compared with National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB), Westpac Banking (ASX:WBC, NZE:WBC), and ANZ Group Holdings (ASX:ANZ, NZE:ANZ) is the major differentiator among the big four Australian banks, according to a Monday report from Fitch Ratings.

The banks also have some differences in strategic focus and progress on non-financial risk remediation, Fitch said. However, their similarities outweigh any differences. Their strong domestic franchises and focus on traditional banking operations support the overall credit profiles of the banks.

This is reflected in the same ratings of AA-, with a stable outlook, being assigned to all four banks and the key rating driver scores being largely the same across the lenders.

The outlook for each bank is stable, and upgrade prospects are likelier than downgrades, Fitch said.