The new NAB CEO is pursuing the tried and trusted blame your predecessor strategy announcing a profit downgrade today. From BS:
National Australia Bank has warned its full-year cash profit will take a hit of up to 14 per cent on further provisions related to its UK operations and an impairment on capitalised software in the lender’s local wealth and banking businesses.
The nation’s fourth-biggest bank said it expects to deliver cash earnings of between $5.1 billion and $5.2bn in the full-year, a decline on the cash profit of $5.94bn posted for fiscal 2013. NAB’s results will be announced at the end of this month.
…”Taking these decisions gives us more clarity going into the future and allows us to focus on the core Australian and New Zealand franchises, which remain in good shape,” Mr Thorburn said.
The idea here is to set a low base from which to announce a great profit next year. It may work for one year but megabank is running into the wrong end of the cycle as macroprudential curbs loom.
