National Australia Bank
Encyclopedia : N : NA : NAT : National Australia Bank
The National Australia Bank or nab (ASX: [NAB]
Core Business
The core business of the National Bank Group is organised around three businesses units by region: Australia, UK/Europe and New Zealand. These regional business units include the retail bank, wealth management and business banking services.There is another business unit called the Institutional Markets & Services. This unit concentrates on debt, risk management and investment products for institutional customers.
History
- 1858: Alexander Gibb, a Melbourne gentleman, enlisted Andrew Cruickshank, a local merchant and pastoralist, to raise the capital to establish National Bank of Australasia (NBA) with headquarters in Melbourne. Cruickshank became NBA's first chairman and Gibbs left after being passed over for the position of General Manager.
- 1858: The bank opened a branch in South Australia.
- 1859: NBA established a branch in Mauritius, but closed it within a year.
- 1864: NBA opened a branch in London to handle financing and payment for Australian exports of wool, gold and other commodities, and also imports to Australia. NBA also opened its first branch in Tasmania.
- 1866: NBA opened its first branch in Western Australia.
- 1885: NBA opened its first branch New South Wales.
- 1893: NBA was one of the many banks that closed its doors during the banking crisis that year. It re-emerged as a public limited company, incorporated on June 23, 1893.
- 1918: The bank acquired Colonial Bank of Australasia (est. 1856), which brought additional branches in Victoria and New South Wales.
- 1920: NBA opened its first branch in Queensland.
- 1922: The bank acquired Bank of Queensland (est. 1917), with its branches in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
- 1946: NBA opened a representative office in Tokyo that it upgraded to a branch in 1985.
- 1948: The bank acquired the Queensland National Bank (est. 1872), with its branches in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. The Bank of Queensland was the result of the merger in 1917 of Royal Bank of Queensland (est. 1886) and Bank of North Queensland (est. 1888).
- 1955: The bank acquired Ballarat Banking Company (est. 1865) in Victoria.
- 1971: NBA opened a branch in Singapore.
- 1973: NBA opened a representative office and took a minority interest in a merchant bank in Jakarta. It withdrew from the merchant bank in 1984.
- 1974: NBA opened a representative office in Hong Kong that it upgraded to a branch in 1985. It also took a minority position in a merchant bank in Kuala Lumpur from which it withdrew in 1984.
- 1977: NBA entered the US with a branch and an agency in Los Angeles that it closed in 1993.
- 1978: NBA and Mitsubishi Bank and Trust established a 50-50 joint venture merchant bank in Hong Kong, but withdrew in 1984.
- 1981: NBA merged with the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney to form National Australia Bank (NAB).
- 1982: NAB opened a branch in Chicago and a representative office in Beijing.
- 1983: NAB opened a representative office in Dallas and another in Seoul that it upgraded to branch in 1990.
- 1984: NAB opened a representative office in San Francisco, another in Kuala Lumpur, and a third in Athens that it closed in 1989.
- 1985: NAB opened a representative office in Frankfurt that it closed in 1992.
- 1986: NAB opened a representative office in Atlanta, another in Bangkok, and a third in Taipei that it upgraded to a branch in 1990.
- 1987: NAB bought Clydesdale Bank (Scotland) and Northern Bank (Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland) from Midland Bank. It then rebranded Northern Bank branches in the Republic of Ireland to National Irish Bank and changed both banks' logos from that of the Midland Bank.
- 1988: NAB opened a representative office in Shanghai that it closed in 1990.
- 1989: NAB opened a representative office in Houston and another in New Delhi.
- 1990: NAB bought Yorkshire Bank (England and Wales).
- 1991: NAB rationalized its operations in the US and closed its offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Francisco.
- 1992: NAB bought Bank of New Zealand, which at the time had about a 26% market share in the New Zealand market.
- 1995: NAB bought Michigan National Bank (MNB).
Previous National Australia Bank logo
- 1996: NAB launched it's customer facing website in Australia - http://www.national.com.au/
- 1997: NAB bought HomeSide Lending(see Washington Mutual), a leading US mortgage originator and servicer based in Florida.
- 2000: NAB sold Michigan National Bank to ABN AMRO.
- 2000: NAB acquires MLC in June 2000 for $4.56bn - one of the biggest mergers in Australian corporate history.
- 2001: NAB sold HomeSide’s operating assets for US$1.9b to Washington Mutual, the largest US savings and loan company, as well as the mortgage unit's loan-servicing technology and operating platform. NAB booked two write-downs associated with the US subsidiary, HomeSide. First, in July 2001, NAB had a $450 million write down of the value of its capitalized mortgage servicing rights (CMSRs) during the quarter ending June 30, 2001, and was the result of exceptionally high mortgage refinance volumes which lowered the value of the CMSRs, combined with a more challenging capital markets environment in which to hedge interest rate risk. This was followed shortly by a second write-down reported in September totalling $1.75 billion; this second write-down consisted of US$400 million from an incorrect interest rate assumption embedded in the mortgage servicing rights valuation model, US$760 million from changed assumptions in the model flowing from the continued unprecedented uncertainty and turbulence in the mortgage servicing market, and US$590 million from writing off of the goodwill. In total, NAB booked $2.2 billion in losses due to HomeSide.
- 2004: National@Docklands new flagship development officially opened at Melbourne Docklands.
- 2004: AU$360 million foreign currency options losses are followed by the resignations of the CEO and Chairman of the Board. Investigations by Price Waterhouse Coopers and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority highlight a need for cultural change.
- 2004: Ahmed Fahour appointed new CEO of Australia. Fahour proceeds to replenish the NAB's executive ranks with top rate talent from the industry.
- 2005: NAB sold Northern Bank and National Irish Bank to the Danish Danske Bank.
- 2005: The bank is forced, by Australian Banking and Financial Services Ombudsman Colin Neave, to investigate complaints of overcharging. The result of this investigation is that the bank repays customer in excess of 80 million dollars. target: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/bank-owns-up-to-80m-fee-blunder/2005/07/28/1122143968442.html
- 2006: After recent controversies, the bank refreshes its image, cleaning up its older logo, and calling itself the 'NAB' (read as one word, not spelt). Continues major AFL sponsorship with added naming rights for AFL Auskick.
- 2006: NAB wins coveted "Bank of the Year" award of Money Magazine.
Sponsorship
The National Australia Bank is a massive supporter of Australian rules football, both at grassroots and elite level. It sponsors Auskick, an initiative to improve young footballers, as well as the NAB Cup (an Australian Football League pre-season competition), the NAB AFL Rising Star award; and the AFL National Draft. Other significant sporting sponsorships include the Socceroos, and the 2006 Commonwealth Games.External links
- [National Australia Bank] - Official Site
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