NAB profit points to predictability under new CEO
The bank delivered a solid half-year result a tad below consensus and emphasised continuity and discipline would be its hallmark under new CEO Andrew Irvine.
New CEOs typically make a statement at their first results outing. They write a few things off, tweak the strategy, make their stamp.
NAB’s new boss didn’t. It looks like Andrew Irvine just did a “search and replace” on Ross McEwan’s name in the results material. The key strategy page is identical.
That is of course intentional. NAB’s rehab from two decades of being a basket case is only a few years old. Irvine made clear today he wanted to consolidate McEwan’s hard-won reputation for sound management and consistent performance.
The half year result of $3.48 billion, down 3% half-on-half and 13% year-on-year, was slightly above market consensus. The 2023 result had benefited from the first initial rises in interest rates which help bank margins. This one lacked that margin boost but NAB still delivered a better than expected net interest margin of 1.72% (although margins in the business and retail bank were down).
