NATIONAL Australia Bank, the owner of the Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks, has put its troubled UK operations up for strategic review as it reported a 7.7 per cent rise in first-quarter profit across the group.
NAB chief executive Cameron Clyne said it was forced into a review since it now expected the UK economy to experience a much longer period of subdued growth due to the government’s austerity programme and the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone.
“[NAB] will work with UK management to appropriately reposition its business mix and structure for the changed economic environment and improve returns,” he said, with the review due to be completed in May.
Tough market conditions also forced Australian bank Macquarie Group to last night issue a dramatic profit downgrade, warning its 2012 earnings will fall by 25 per cent.
