NAB confirms HNW focus despite wealth exit

National Australia Bank may have departed the majority of its financial planning exposure with the sale of MLC Wealth but it is not ceding access to its high net worth clients.

Amid the release of its full-year results to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) today, the big banking group announced in its investor briefing pack that it would be “leveraging high net worth (HNW)” on the back of single leadership of its Private Bank, JBWere and nabtrade.

It said there would be HNW representatives across specialised banking teams, and that it would be “aligning Private Bankers and Wealth Advisors with every metropolitan Business Banking Centre.

The bank reported a statutory net profit of $6,364 million on the back of a 76.8% increase in cash earnings to $6,558 million resulting in the board declaring a final dividend of 67 cents per share full-franked.

NAB chief executive, Ross McEwan said the lift in the company’s final dividend brought the increase in total dividends over the year to 112% reflecting its optimism about the future.

“While some uncertainties exist in the outlook including the impact of tapering support, our balance sheet settings are strong and we are well positioned for the expected economic rebound in Australia and New Zealand,” he said.