National Australia Bank is looking expand its share of the credit card market by buying Citi’s Australian retail banking arm.
Banks are primed to hand back billions of dollars of excess capital to investors,in sharp contrast to last year when they were told to batten down the hatches.
With rolling lockdowns likely to be a continuing feature of life in the face of the highly contagious Delta variant,Australia’s “V-shaped” economic recovery is in jeopardy.
NAB’s Ross McEwan says calls for help from struggling customers have increased 10 per cent,and the economic impact of lockdowns depends on how long they last.
When the chiefs of Australia’s four banks went to bed after listening to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg deliver a massive spending budget,they surely counted dollars rather than sheep.
ANZ bank’s chief executive Shayne Elliot has also joined the banking industry’s push for tighter curbs on buy now,pay later (BNPL) firms such as Afterpay.
The boss of one of Australia’s biggest banks is urging state and territory governments to revamp planning rules to encourage more housing development amid forecasts of double-digit price growth for 2021.
NAB boss Ross McEwan says the bank would be happy to help with the vaccine rollout in order to get international borders open for seasonal workers and international tourism.
NAB’s cash earnings are climbing and deferrals are falling. But chief executive Ross McEwan has said the bank’s challenges aren’t over.
Major chief executives have expressed confidence they can manage remote workforces as the coronavirus pandemic forces businesses to permanently change the way they operate.
NAB chair Philip Chronican says a strong balance sheet is crucial to staying afloat during this period of uncertainty as it leapfrogs Westpac as the country’s second largest bank.