About us

Our organisation today

National Australia Bank is a financial services organisation with over 40,000 people, operating more than 1,800 branches and service centres, and responsible to more than 460,000 shareholders. We operate major financial services franchises in Australia, as well as businesses in New Zealand, Asia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Each of our brands is uniquely positioned but built on a common commitment to providing quality products and services, fair fees and charges, and relationships built on the principles of help, guidance and advice.

Our goal

Our goal is to deliver sustainable, satisfactory returns to shareholders. Throughout the global financial crisis, NAB remained strong and secure for our shareholders, as well as our customers, our people and the community. Now as the economy recovers, we are looking forward to enhancing performance, and implementing plans that leverage our leading Australian business banking and wealth management brands. We are continuing to reposition our Australian personal bank, invest in our operations and our reputation, and capitalise on our strong balance sheet. Internationally, we continue to develop our businesses in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, United States and Asia, with a focus on shareholder value.

Our responsibility

NAB believes that what we do (and how we do it) is just as important as our financial results. Put simply, to us, Corporate Responsibility (CR) is doing the right thing for our customers, employees and communities. The increase in customers, employees and other community members who positively advocate for our business as a result, helps build a sustainable business for our shareholders.

The reputation of banks with regard to their responsibilities is under scrutiny. NAB has determined our approach to CR as a key strategic development for the Company.

Central to our CR approach is a range of stakeholder engagement initiatives designed to ensure that we are identifying and responding to current and emerging issues. Our Customer Council, chaired by the Group CEO, provides a strong ‘listening post’ for regular customer feedback and diagnosis. Our Community Advisory Council also plays a central role, providing external and independent opinion on strategy and actions.

We have established a long-term program of CR action based on our assessment of material issues. It is updated by annual stakeholder engagement. Our resulting CR actions are focused in three main areas:

• Getting the fundamentals right for our customers, with a critical focus on fees and charges, customer service, responsible lending, security and ethics.
• Being a good employer with a focus on leadership and skills development, diversity and volunteering.
• Addressing our broader responsibility to society, with a focus on education, inclusion and the environment. well may

For more information on our Corporate Responsibility approach and activities, visit www.nabgroup.com/cr.

Our culture

This perspective on our responsibility frames the beliefs and behaviours of our people. At the heart of our Group is a belief in the potential of our customers and communities, and in each other. We look for positive, value-creating and sustainable relationships and solutions. We are motivated:

• To do the right thing.
• To help our customers and communities.
• To realise potential.

This belief also places a high standard for our behaviours and asks all employees to be authentic and respectful, work together and create value through excellence.

Our strategic priorities

Our aim is to deliver a sustainable business that outperforms our competitors. Our strategic priorities are:

1. Maintaining balance sheet strength so that we remain a strong, viable business.
2. Accelerating our efficiency, quality and service agenda
3. Investing in our people, culture and reputation
4. Continue to develop our portfolio of businesses

1. Maintaining balance sheet strength so that we remain a strong, viable business

We maintain a sound balance sheet, with conservative capital, funding and liquidity positions. This allows us to support customers and grow market share in key segments, through volatile economic conditions.

In 2009, National Australia Bank was ranked the world's 11th safest bank (and the safest in Australia) in Global Finance Magazine's Safest Bank Rating.

2. Accelerating our efficiency, quality and service agenda

Our Efficiency, Quality and Service agenda is focused on reshaping the business to increase efficiency, reduce duplication, and position the Group to better serve our customers.

NextGen, our multi-year, business-led change program, will help us become an agile, less complex, more efficient and more competitive business, make it easier for our customers to deal with us, and easier for our people to do their jobs.

3. Investing in our people, culture and reputation

We are on a journey to improve engagement with our customers, people, government and community, and build a culture that reflects this. We are committed to initiatives such as improving communication; being more transparent and open about our actions and decisions; offering fairer value banking; reducing our impact on the environment; and improving access to financial services for the disadvantaged.

Recent initiatives have included:

• Leading the industry on the issue of fees, abolishing overdrawn fees on all NAB and BNZ personal transaction and savings accounts,  and being open and communicative about interest rates
• Investing in our diversity and flexible working practices, resulting in NAB again being cited as an employer of choice for women in 2010 by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA)
• Allocating a further $100 million to expand our microfinance program in Australia
• Committing to reduce our carbon emissions by 20% from 2006 levels, increasing the amount of renewable energy we purchase to 10% and investing in emission reduction projects that ensure we are carbon neutral by September 2010

4. Continue to develop our portfolio of businesses

We will continue to develop our portfolio with a focus on Australia where we are growing the business bank, leveraging recent investments in the retail bank, and pursuing opportunities across the wealth management value chain. At the same time, we will maintain options for longer term growth internationally.

Recent initiatives include:

• Appointing 145 additional frontline bankers to our business bank during 2009, with plans to add a further 200 during 2010.
• Acquiring Challenger's mortgage management business and launching UBank, both important components of our Retail Banking growth strategy.
• Extending our wealth capability and reach with the acquisition of Aviva's wealth management business, and the formation of an alliance with Goldman Sachs JBWere private wealth management business.
• Expanding the branch network of Great Western Bank in the United States.