1 November 2018

NAB posts solid result despite remediation costs

Published by Money Management – 1st Nov 2018

National Australia Bank (NAB) has reported a solid full-year net profit of $5,554 million while exhibiting the impacts of restructuring and remediation costs.

NAB chief executive, Andrew Thorburn said the result had been impacted by restructuring-related costs and customer-related remediation, with cash earnings 14 per cent lower than last financial year.

The directors declared a final dividend of 99 cents per share fully franked.

The big banking group also confirmed the loss of 1,900 full-time equivalent positions from the business against a target of 6,000 by the 2020 financial year.

On the wealth front, NAB said that since announcing the reshaping of its wealth business, it had made good progress towards separating MLC ahead of a targeted public market listing by the end of the 2019 calendar year.

Referring to the Royal Commission, NAB said that in the second half it had recognised customer-related remediation of $360 million including refunds and compensation to customers impacted by issues in NAB Wealth.

It said that from 1 October, this year, 97 per cent of staff would be rewarded on a balance of outcomes and behaviours under the Group Variable Reward Plan and not specialist sale incentives, up from 85 per cent in the September 2018 full year.