NAB wants to be 'the Toyota of Australian banking'
NAB’s slightly better-than-expected half-year result and low-risk strategy built on Toyota-style continuous improvement won over investors.
A year into leading National Australia Bank, Andrew Irvine has outlined a strategy focused on three key sectors and deliberately avoiding the major technology overhauls being undertaken by Westpac and ANZ.
Speaking to Capital Brief, Irvine said he is unapologetically focused on NAB’s evolutionary growth rather than any major strategic shift. At the centre of that approach are 20 “must win” battles identified by a recent strategic review, which also formulated a cultural “operating system” he believes will be difficult for rivals to replicate.
“Toyota has been doing that for 20 years and has kicked a lot of other companies’ butts over that time,” Irvine said. “Our hope is to become the Toyota of Australian banking, where we have an operating system and a culture around continuous improvement that’s disciplined and very hard to replicate.”
NAB delivered a slightly better-than-expected half-year result, with cash profit of $3.58 billion — up 1% on the prior year and 0.8% on the September half. Return on equity edged up by 1 basis point to 11.7%, while the dividend held steady at 85c.
