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National Australia Bank group chief executive designate Cameron Clyne is taking over the head of the Australia role held by Ahmed Fahour, who will shift to an unspecified group position within the bank.
Clyne, who succeeds John Stewart, said his decision to combine the group and Australia chief executive roles came after meeting and listening to stakeholders and assessing market conditions over the past three months.
Clyne said this would not lessen NAB's focus on its overseas operations, including BNZ which he used to lead, and the Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks in Britain. He was continuing to meet staff from across NAB's operations and would provide "additional comment on the bank's strategic direction in the lead-up to its first half results".
Chairman Michael Chaney told shareholders at the bank's annual meeting in Melbourne that NAB was working with the federal government to restore order to Australia's financial markets, amid the worst disruption in the global financial system seen since the 1930s.
"We benefit from operating within a very strong regulatory framework that has been the foundation of the Australian banking system," he said.
But considerable uncertainty remained about how the current global financial turmoil would play out and when the world would emerge from it.
Chaney said the bank was concerned that wholesale funding costs may continue to trend up through next year.
Outgoing chief executive Stewart said NAB's capital ratio, now higher than 8 per cent, put the bank in a strong position in the face of economic and market uncertainty.
- AAP
