Acknowledging that its Australian business banking division's market-leading position is under threat, National Australia Bank has committed to investing in staff and process improvement in the division.
NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn (pictured, below left) said A$40 million had been invested in the division over the past year. The bank has put 100 more business bankers into its business banking centres, along with more mobile bankers and product specialists.
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Andrew Thorburn, NAB CEO
"As we can afford more we will spend more," Thorburn said.
He conceded that it was hard for commercial customers to do business with the bank and that its processes needed to be streamlined.
"We ask customers to tell us things that we already know and if they want multiple products they have to make multiple applications," he said.
Thorburn said he believed the bank had the right business banking model, so it was a matter of making things easier for customers rather than a major overhaul.
The bank is aiming to have an integrated multi-channel approach by next year, so customers can access the bank through call centres, online or branches in a more seamless way.
It is taking "operational roles" out of business banking centres and putting them into seven "fulfilment centres" in a bid to achieve lower error rates and improve turnaround times.
He said the division had achieved some goals in recent years, including the development of expertise in the agribusiness, health, government and education markets.
Its 228 business banking centres give it a stronger presence than its rivals. It has a bigger share of wallet (at 66 per cent) among SME customers than any of its rivals.
However, business lending share, as measured by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, fell from 23.8 per cent to 22.8 per cent. Thorburn said market share among business with annual turnover between $1 million and $5 million had weakened.
Business banking revenue fell 3.8 per cent during the year to September, from $4.1 billion to $3.9 billion. Business lending volume rose 2.4 per cent to $164.6 billion.