Since putting in place a “customer outcomes framework” in 2019 to set standards for the design of products, NAB has assessed more than 300 products against the framework and made a number of changes, including:

removing or reducing 88 fees in 2019/20, after removing or reducing 185 fees in 2018/19; introducing individual support for elderly credit card customers who show early signs or difficulty managing their debt; introducing a gambling self-block that has been used by 47,000 customers; removing several credit card products from sale because they did not align with customer expectations of rewards value; and making greater use of SMS to remind customers payments are due.

The customer outcomes framework is one of the initiatives the bank has taken since its 2018 self-assessment identified a raft of things it could do to improve its governance, accountability and culture.

Yesterday, NAB reported on those changes in an update on its improvement project.

The 2018 self-assessment identified 26 actions the bank should take to improve governance, accountability and culture. Of those, it has completed 16 and five are expected to be completed by the first half of next year.

Apart from product changes, the bank has established board and executive customer committees to improve the focus on fair customer outcomes.

The executive leadership team participates in “customer complaints immersion sessions” to connect with teams managing complaints and gain first-hand experience of dispute resolution.

As a result, the complaints handling processes have been overhauled.

Investment decision-making must include customer-focused metrics.

Another group of changes involve upgrading technology to improve system security, speed, reliability and adaptability. It is also working on better management of data.

The bank has developed non-financial risk reporting, changed the performance framework and run workshops to identify cultural shortcomings.