NAB chief executive Ross McEwan has outlined a number of areas where the bank needs to improve, with better execution the key to its turnaround.
Yesterday he reported on a four-month strategy review, which identified a “compelling value opportunity”.
However, it also revealed that the bank has overly complex products and interactions, is slow to respond and then deliver customer experiences and is inconsistent. The bank has too much bureaucracy.
McEwan is not happy that the bank has a negative net promoter score and a historically low market share among younger customers.
He said the resulting strategy was not wholesale change. “It is about how we execute. A focus on clarity will be the key,” he said.
UBank will be upgraded to provide a “market leading digital experience” and offer a number of “new propositions” to drive customer acquisition.
The consumer banking division will be rebranded “personal banking” and offer a “radically simpler” digital-first proposition. The bank will have a single mortgage origination centre to provide a “single customer experience”.
McEwan has made a couple of senior management changes. Rachel Slade, the bank’s chief customer experience officer, has been appointed group executive personal banking.
Nathan Goonan, NAB’s executive general manager group strategy and development, has been appointed group executive strategy and innovation. He will join the executive leadership team.
One of McEwan’s peeves is that the bank invests in too many IT and innovation projects and wastes money in the process. Goonan will be charged with making sure the bank “works on what matters most, not everything”.
The bank has already been through a transformation program that was launched by McEwan’s predecessor Andrew Thorburn. Since 2017 it has reduced the number of products by 200.
Sixty-three per cent of “simple” products are now sold through digital channels and there has been a 35 per cent reduction in over the counter transactions.
McEwan was keen to emphasise that the bank would “live within its means”. The current annual investment spend of $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion would not increase.