NAB CEO Andrew Irvine confirms strategic reset, focus on proprietary lending
NAB's annual result was in line with expectations, but was weaker in key areas like credit quality and revenue.
National Australia Bank will focus on growing its proprietary lending in the largely broker-driven mortgage market to offset margin pressure as a key element of a strategic reset.
Following a comprehensive review, first reported by Capital Brief in July, CEO Andrew Irvine said that the reset represents an evolution of the strategy set by his predecessor, Ross McEwan, five years ago rather than a radical change.
The review — and the bank’s aim to do more in-house mortgage lending as part of a wide-ranging “operating system” overhaul — was central to Irvine’s message during the announcement of NAB’s slightly lower (but in line with expectations) annual earnings.
“There are no golden bullets in banking,” he told Capital Brief. “We’re proud of our purpose but purpose alone is insufficient. You've got to get your operating systems right from the board, through the management team, through to every team in the business. So that's not easy to do.”
