National Australia Bank News

The National Bank of Abu Dhabi , has appointed George Beatty as the General Manager of Consumer and Elite Banking.

National Australia Bank's latest online retail sales index found online discretionary spending on items such as homeware, furniture, appliances and electronics fell by five per cent in April, compared to nine per cent growth in March.

"The absence of access to mainstream financial services does preclude people from advancing socially and economically" ... Cameron Clyne, NAB chief executive.

National Australia Bank boss Cameron Clyne will personally oversee the restructure of the bank's under-pressure British arm after long-serving European chairman Malcolm Williamson outlined plans to step down from next month.

National Australia Bank is winding down its private equity arm, marking the death knell for Australia's big four banks' foray into the sector.

The euro firmed against the dollar and yen in a "relief rally" in Asia Monday as opinion polls suggested Greece's conservative pro-austerity party was in the lead prior to next month's election.

AUSTRALIA'S big four banks are facing write-downs totalling almost $250 million in the wake of Hastie Group's collapse into receivership at the weekend.

The company, which is owned by National Australia Bank, saw its rating by Standard & Poor's slashed from "A+" to "BBB+". The resulting rise in funding costs as some companies moved money out, combined with bad debts, sent the bank to a 250 million pre-tax loss for the period.

A DROP in commodity prices, availability of labour and the high Australian dollar have combined to have a negative impact on business conditions in recent months, a National Australia Bank survey has found.

THE former Treasury secretary Ken Henry has accepted a seat on the board of Reconciliation Australia.

Mobile malware targeting the financial services industry will continue to rise unless companies do a better job of testing apps and educating users according to National Australia Bank head of mobile and emerging technologies, Ben Forsyth.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia has begun a global search for candidates to fill the big hole that will be left by outgoing retail banking services group executive Ross McEwan.

THE European debt crisis is no longer to blame for higher Australian mortgage rates, according to National Australia Bank chief executive Cameron Clyne.

Lloyds' Australian arm BOS International, a Canadian and a Japanese bank as well as Australia and New Zealand Banking Group , National Australia Bank , Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac have pledged funds under the facility, which will have maturities of three, five and seven years, the source said.

Cloud standards should be seen as an enabler of innovation, according to NAB head of strategy and innovation, Denis Curran The National Australia Bank has called on the IT industry to work more closely on the development of Cloud standards in order to more fully realise the efficiency and cost benefits of the Cloud.

The Australian sharemarket managed to improve for the first time in five sessions today, with the All Ordinaries Index gaining by 0.6 pct or 25.6 pts to 4124.4. Shares were up by as much as 1 pct in early trade, fell by 0.12 pct at around lunch however managed to recover in the last few hours of trade.

ANZ's decision to break ranks with rivals in terms of pushing through out-of-cycle interest rate rises is turning off customers, with the banking major taking a hit in satisfaction rankings.

Wheat gained for a fourth day, the longest winning streak since January, on speculation dry weather in the U.S., Australia and Russia will curb yields in the world's three biggest shippers this year.

At 1200 AEST on Thursday, the Australian dollar was trading at 99.35 US cents, up from 98.93 US cents on Wednesday.

Glenn Stevens, governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, slashed the overnight cash rate target by half a percentage point to a two-year low of 3.75 percent.